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Ralph W. Jordan 




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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



ONIONS 



BY 



RALPH W. JORDAN 
w 



WEBB PUBLISHING COMPANY 

ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 

1915 






COPYRIGHT, 1915 

BY 

WEBB PUBLISHING COMPANY 



ALL RIGHTS RESERVED 

W-l 



AcTO 

JUL -6 1915 

)3I.A401650 
4U, 



PREFACE 

The author has written this book on the theories and 
methods of growing onions in a spirit of co-operation and 
helpfulness to those who are interested in the growing of 
this crop. It has been my desire to call attention to some 
of the more important phases of the subject which pertain 
to the growing of the crop in a commercial way. Details 
are dwelt upon in places where necessary to make the 
methods of culture and care of the crop clear to the begin- 
ner. Methods, however, differ widely, according to the 
locality. Local conditions often demand changes. The book 
is not an encyclopedia of facts, but a presentation of a few 
of the better methods. 

The encouragement and helpfulness of Professor Wendell 
Paddock, of Ohio State University, has largely made the 
book possible and I am especially indebted to him. Special 
acknowledgment is made to Stephen N. Green, of Ohio 
Experiment Station, for Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 
15, 16, 17, 19, 24 and 26; to A. D. Selby, of Ohio Experi- 
ment Station, for Figures 33 and 34; to J. S. Houser, of 
Ohio Experiment Station, for Figure 31; to F. H. Chitten- 
den, of the U. S. Department of Agriculture, for Figures 
29 and 32; to H. C. Thompson, of the U. S. Department of 
Agriculture, for Figures 27 and 28 and frontispiece; to C. 
G. Woodbury, of Purdue University, Department of Horti- 
culture, for Figures 13, 14 and 30. 



RALPH W. JORDAN 



Columbus, Ohio, 
March 27th, 1915. 



CONTENTS 

Chapter Page 

1— The Onion 

History 11 

Botany 12 

Importance 12 

Climatic requirements 14 

II — Soil Requirements of the Onion 

Soil preferences 18 

Drainage 19 

III — Varieties of Onions 

Yellow varieties 21 

Red varieties 22 

White varieties 23 

Brown varieties 24 

IV— Good Seed All Important 

Vitality of onion seed 26 

Testing the seed 26 

Trueness of type 26 

Home grown seed 32 

Seed growing 34 

The seed crop 36 

V — Fertilizers, Lime and Manure 

Commercial fertilizers 40 

Lime 43 

Manures 43 

VI — Preparation of the Seed Bed and Seed Planting 

Preparation of the soil 44 

Drilling the seed 47 

VII — The Lesser Onion Crops 

Onion sets 48 

Green or bunch onions 48 

Pickle onions 49 

Transplanted onions 50 

7 



8 OXIOXS 

Chapter Page 

VIII— The Culture of the Onion Crop 

Cultivation 56 

Weeding 60 

Irrigation 62 

IX — The Matured Onion Crop 

Harvesting 65 

Storing 70 

Marketing 73 

Yield and cost of growing 76 

X — Onion Pests 

Insects 80 

Diseases 88 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



Frontispiece 


Chart 


1,P 


it 


2 


Figure 


1 


Chart 


3 


Figure 


2 


H 


4 


it 


3 


a 


4 


" 


5 


Chart 


5 


Figure 


6 



" 10 

" 11 

" 12 

" 13 

« 14 

" 15 

" 16 

" 17 

" 18 

" 19 

" 20 

" 21 

" 22 

" 23 

" 24 

" 25 

" 26 

" 27 

" 28 

Chart 6 



Field of onions at harvest time. 

ge 13 — Production of onions by two-year averages. 

15 — Acre production of onions by states. 

16 — In the North the seed is sown in early spring. 

25 — Germination test of onion seed. 

26— Bottle type. 

27 — Onion variety and strain test. 

31— Flat type. 

33 — Ideal shape of onion. 

38 — Onion seed crop. 

42 — Cornell fertilizer experiments. 

45 — Fertilizer spreader. 

45 — Planker for smoothing ground. 

46 — Onion seed drill. 

51 — Onion plants ready to transplant. 

52 — Transplanting onions in the field. 

53 — A crop of transplanted onions. 

54 — Ohio grown transplanted onions. 

56 — Wire weeder. 

57 — Double- wheel cultivator. 

58 — Single- wheel cultivator. 

59 — Single-wheel cultivator with shovels. 

60 — Height of onions at second weeding. 

61 — An army of workers weeding and cultivating. 

63 — Overhead irrigation of onions in the North. 

66 — Pulling onions. 

66 — Onions curing in stacks. 

67 — Placing onions in a curing shed. 

68 — Topping onions by machine. 

69 — Onion screen. 

70 — Topping onions by hand. 

71 — Crate ready for storage. 

72 — Onions in storage. 

72 — Onion storage houses. 

73 — The New York onion market in two-year averages. 



10 ONIONS 

77— Average Production, 1911-12-13. 

78 — A small crop is worth more than a large crop. 

81 — At left: onion plant attacked by maggots. At 

right: plant exposed slightly showing maggots. 
82 — Effects of attack by maggots. 
83 — Decayed bulbs scattered out form ideal breeding 

grounds for the larvae of the maggot. 

32 " 86 — Field infested with thrips. Defective bulbs com- 
pared with normal bulbs. 

33 " 89 — At left: onion plants infected with smut. Notice 
the infected layer in plants five and six. At 
right: healthy specimens. 

34 " 92— Dry or black neck-rot. 



Chart 


7 


<< 


8 


Figure 29 


« 


30 


M 


31 



ONIONS 



CHAPTER I 
THE ONION 

Historical. The onion takes its name from the city 
built by Onias (B. C. 173) near the Gulf of Suez. The 
onion has been domesticated a very long time and is one of 
the earliest of cultivated plants. Drawings of it are found 
on the Egyptian monuments. Its indigenous form, how- 
ever, is not well understood. Under long continued cul- 
tivation and selection the bulbs have developed into large 
shapely organs. It has for centuries found favor with the 
Egyptians and Israelites and is now cultivated and popular 
in almost every country of the world. The place of its 
origin is unknown; but it occupied a vast area in Western 
Asia during a very early epoch, extending, perhaps, from 
Palestine to India. Early historic records refer to it fre- 
quently as an article of food, also as a preventive of thirst 
while on the march or traveling in the desert. 

In olden times the growing of the crop was confined 
chiefly to the alluvial river valleys; but by improvement 
the different varieties have been adapted to a diversity 
of conditions. It is only within the last quarter of a cen- 
tury that rapid growth and development of the industry 
has taken place in the Northern and New England States. 
The past decade has witnessed the development of the 
Bermuda onion industry in Texas, until now we have our 

11 



J.2 ONIONS 

markets supplied during the whole year with successive 
crops from our own country. 

Botany. The onion belongs to the Allium cepa, a 
widely variable species forming a part of the botanical 
family which includes the lilies and the several forms of 
asparagus and smilax. It is generally a biennial, although 
some forms, such as the tree onion and multipliers, are 
perennial. The latter are used for bunching purposes. 
Usually, however, it is grown for bulbs as an annual. The 
bulbs are variable in color, being yellow, red, white and the 
intermediate shades of these colors. Now and then a bulb 
does not develop, and the neck, or stalk just above the 
bulb, remains relatively thick. Such onions are termed 
scullions, and they may be regarded as run down or re- 
verted forms. The seed stalks are slender and tall. The 
seeds are angular in shape and black, and are borne in a 
dense and compact cluster at the end of the seed stalk. 

Importance. The onion is one of the most important 
vegetable crops in the United States. It ranks third in 
commercial importance, the crop being valued at more 
than $10,000,000 annually. The shipping and keeping 
qualities of onions are excellent. The bulbs will stand con- 
siderable rough usage and keep a long time under unfavor- 
able conditions. These qualities are important factors and 
have helped to materially increase the demand for the bulbs. 
The old adage, "Keep onions in the house and you will 
keep the doctor away," has borne fruit. Onions are more 
increasingly regarded as a healthful article of food. This 
fact together, with a better understanding of their palata- 
bility, has increased their use very widely. The industry 
of onion growing has been developed rapidly as is shown 
by the curve of production, Chart 1. This chart gives 
the production of the Northern and New England States 



IMPORTANCE 



13 



from 1894 to 1914 and is 
based on two-year averages 
of crop production in mil- 
lions of bushels. The fig- 
ures were taken from the 
onion crop report of the 
American Agriculturist. Al- 
most the entire crop is used 
within our borders, and im- 
mense importations are at 
the present time necessary to 
supply the demand. Spain, 
Egypt, Bermuda, and the 
South Sea Islands supply 
our country with more than 
a million bushels annually. 

Within the last decade 
the Bermuda onion indus- 
try has gained a wonderful 
impetus in Texas and the 
neighboring Gulf Coast 
States. The increased pro- 
duction from these quarters 
nas been more marvelous 
in the rapidity of the in- 
crease than that of the 
Northern and New England 
States. The onion from 
this district outranks its 
competitor from the Ber- 
muda Islands in quality 
and is found on the market 
at about the same time. 



^|H^i^i|U|n+[lf^ + |rnf | 1 1 1 1 ; i j 1 1 i 1 i 'H JHI^ 



14 • ONIONS 

The Northern and New England States include New 
York, Ohio, Massachusetts, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, 
Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Rhode Island, 
the states being named in their relative order of produc- 
tion as based on their average output of the last three years. 
Chart 2 shows the proportionate acreage by states. The 
crop is grown largely in a commercial way on muck soils in 
these areas, but numerous instances could be cited where 
the crop is profitablely grown on upland soils. 

The wide adaptation of the onion to all climates and 
soils from the Gulf to the 49th parallel and from Massachu- 
setts Bay to Puget Sound makes it a very useful product 
both as regards the home garden and from the commercial 
point of view. The demand on the market for a good 
article continues from January first to January first. 

Climatic Requirements. The leading varieties are us- 
ually planted under different climatic conditions. The 
most tender sorts, the foreign types, such as the Bermudas 
and Denias, are better adapted to the Southern latitude of 
the United States in California, New Mexico, and the 
Gulf States. They do very well in the North, if the season 
is lengthened by starting them under glass, and even under 
the most favorable conditions they produce fine crops when 
the seed is sown outside. The American types which are 
represented by the numerous Danvers and Globes are grown 
mostly in the North, but will likewise do very well in the 
South under proper care. The onion has adapted itself to 
the different climates through centuries of cultivation. 
In the warmer parts of Europe, such as Italy, Portugal, and 
especially Spain, the type of the large thick-necked, long 
season, short-keeping and very mild, sweet quality onion 
has been developed. Cultivation for hundreds of years in 
these parts without the introduction of outside strains has 



ACRE PRODUCTION 



15 



Chart 2. Acre Production of Onions 
by States. 



4500- 
4250- 
4000- 
3750- 
3500 
3250- 
3000- 
2750- 
2500 
2250- 
2000- 
1750- 
1500- 
1250- 
1000- 
750- 
500- 
250- 
0- 



a a 

a a 

43 O 



16 ONIONS 

produced this type. In the same manner the onions grown 
in California gradually acquire the characteristics of the 
slower ripening Southern European types. Vast quantities 
of seed used by Northern growers are raised in California, 
and. unless the stock be replenished from the North each 
season, the bulbs grown from the California seed will fail 
to mature at harvest time. Even in the North care must 
be exercised in the selection of bulbs for seed purposes, lest 
the thicker neck or bottle shape type predominate. This 
type requires a longer season in which to mature sufficiently, 
and, therefore, is likely to have poorer keeping qualities. 

A temperate climate without extremes of heat or cold is 
best for the onion. The industry is scarcely ever profitable 
where there is no winter and summer or rainy and dry 
seasons. Comparatively cool conditions at the time of 
seeding and during the early part of the growth, with plenty 
of moisture are necessary, and a dry soil with warmer tem- 
peratures prevailing is desirable during the time of bowling 
and ripening. In the North the seed is usually sown during 
the time of spring rains and the crop is harvested in late 
summer, when dry conditions may be expected to prevail. 




Figure 1. In the North the Seed Is Sown in Early Spring. 



CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS 17 

In the South the seed is drilled earlier, since the bulk of the 
growth must take place under comparatively cool condi- 
tions. The amount of rainfall necessary to produce a crop 
of onions will depend largely upon the soil and its drainage. 
Many of the muck soils in which the soil water remains 
near the surface will require very little rainfall; in fact, the 
best crops are produced on these soils with a smaller amount 
of rainfall, but very evenly distributed. Excessive rainfall 
sometimes causes thick-necks or scullions. 

In the southern part of the United States the climatic 
conditions are overcome by growing the crop during the 
late autumn and winter; early spring and summer being 
the time of cropping in the North. The period of growth 
of the onion in the North ranges between one hundred and 
thirty and one hundred and fifty days. If the seed is 
grown under glass and transplanted (a method not generally 
employed in an extensive way in the North) the crop may 
be grown from seedlings in about one hundred days. The 
farther North the onions are grown, the shorter the season 
in which they mature. That is to say, onion seed grown 
in the North will produce mature bulbs in a shorter time 
than seed from the warmer climates under like conditions. 



CHAPTER II 
SOIL REQUIREMENTS OF THE ONION 

Soil Preferences. Onions may be grown on practically 
any soil that is in good physical condition, well drained, and 
having plenty of humus. Heavy soils are not suitable, 
because they furnish a poor seed bed, in that the surface is 
likely to bake and crack, injuring the young onions; in that 
the bulbs are checked in growth with the result that scul- 
lions are produced; and in that weeding is rendered very 
difficult. The bed should be free from rubbish, stones 
and weed seed. Seeding and cultivation are thus made less 
difficult and the expense and burden of caring for the crop 
is materially reduced. 

Sandy loams or clays containing a considerable amount 
of sand are often well adapted to onions. Heavy applica- 
tions of manure should be made or leguminous crops should 
be grown, and plowed under so as to lighten the soil. More 
fertilizer will be required than upon ordinary muck soils, 
to produce a paying crop. Onions produced on upland 
soils are of excellent quality, firmer, and, therefore, good 
keepers. 

We are more concerned with the muck type of soil, since 
it is the one mainly used in the North. In most instances 
it has been reclaimed by draining swamps, not many years 
ago regarded as practically worthless, but now good onion 
land, and frequently worth from $300 to $500 per acre. 
Peat and muck are two different terms and should be kept 
in mind as applying to distinct soil types. 

Peat is composed of a coarse fibrous residue of the 
original vegetation in the earlier stages of decomposition 

18 



DRAINAGE 19 

and disintegration. It is yellow brown to dark brown in 
color. Even though having a permanent water table just 
below the surface, its capillarity is so poor that the crop 
producing powers are limited largely on account of the 
lack of moisture retaining capacity. An aerated peat soil 
is acted upon by micro-organisms and the processes of 
oxidation; the fibrous structure is lost and it becomes pul- 
verized; the color changes from a yellow brown or a dark 
brown to a dark brown and black material, known as muck. 
It represents peat in an advanced stage of decomposition or 
decay, ripening into its old age. The organic matter being 
in a finely divided state, its plant food constituents are 
rendered more available to growing vegetation. At the same 
time the soil has a more satisfactory relation to the moisture 
supply. 

Mucks vary in depth from a few inches to fifteen, twenty 
or even thirty feet. By analysis they are found to be ex- 
ceedingly rich in nitrogen, which, of course, if available in 
large amounts, would be wasted. It is not, however, 
rapidly converted for the use of plants. In physical appear- 
ance mucks are very fine and black. On account of the 
larger amounts of organic matter in mucks as well as their 
high state of fertility and ease of cultivation, these soils 
are most productive and profitable for onion culture. They 
are also well adapted to onions in that the black soil warms 
up rapidly in the spring, thus favoring early planting. 
Further, the mucks are retentive of moisture, and drought 
seldom curtails the growth. 

Drainage. Mucks settle to a considerable extent upon 
drainage, on account of the shrinkage caused by drying out. 
A tile system is soon rendered worthless by its own change 
in level, thus causing it to clog with sediment in low places. 
Occasionally the tile are laid on boards, or continuous 



20 ONIONS 

wooden conduits are used, thus obviating the aforesaid 
difficulty. Open ditches are generally used at first, in this 
way permitting the land to settle for a permanent tile drain- 
age system later. Open ditches should be spaced at a 
distance of 150 to 200 feet apart. They should have a 
depth of three to four feet. A marginal ditch is usually dug 
around the edges of the marsh to carry away water from 
springs and the overflow from the surrounding higher lands. 
Based upon the examination of a large number of tile 
drained fields by A. R. Whitson, of the Wisconsin Station, 
tile drains should be placed from three to four rods apart 
on muck soils for truck crops, in order to produce the best 
results. As in the open ditch system, a marginal tile is 
usually laid to carry off the spring and surface flow. The 
onion is a shallow-rooted crop, consequently a tile at twenty 
inches depth would be satisfactory, were onions alone to be 
considered. For ordinary crops, however, the drain should 
be placed at a depth ranging from three to four feet. 



CHAPTER III 
VARIETIES OF ONIONS 

Varieties. Commercial varieties of onions may be dis- 
tinguished in general by the color of- the skin, shape of the 
bulb, and the size. 

1. Yellow Varieties. 

a. Yellow Globe Danvers. Also called Danvers' Yel- 
low, Round Yellow Danvers, Yellow Globe, Danvers, and 
Ohio Yellow Globe. It is a selected strain of Yellow Dan- 
vers, not so perfectly globular as some other forms, skin 
yellow, flesh white, fine grained, solid, and of excellent 
quality, good for storage purposes, and grown more exten- 
sively than any other yellow onion. 

b. Yellow Danvers. Also called Round Danvers. It 
has a thin yellow skin, white flesh, is finely grained. and 
firm, round and of good size, of excellent quality, a good 
keeper, and compared with the Yellow Globe Danvers, it 
ripens earlier. 

c. Southport Yellow Globe. It has a yellow skin with 
white flesh, is globe shaped and of good size, being larger 
than the Yellow Globe Danvers, matures later, is a good 
keeper, and is widely grown. 

d. Prizetaker. The seed was first grown in California 
from Spanish onions. It is the best of the large mild onions, 
globular in form, having bulbs weighing from one to two 
pounds, with skin of a rich yellow color, of pure white flesh, 
finely grained, used largely as a transplanted onion, and a 
poor keeper. Only medium-sized specimens should be stored. 

e. Giant Gibralter. Very similar, if not the same as 

21 



22 OV IOX8 

the Denia, a Spanish onion, used for transplanting, and, 
compared with the Prizetaker, the flesh is milder. It is a 
poor keeper in storage. 

f. Bermuda. A foreign type grown largely in Texas. 

2. Red Varieties. 

a. Southport Red Globe. A globe-shaped onion, with 
skin deep red, and flesh of splendid quality, mild and fine 
grained, a good keeper in storage, and widely grown where- 
ever the red variety is cultivated. 

b. Red Wethersfield. This onion is rather flat in 
shape, grows to a good size, has deep purplish red skin and 
purplish white flesh, is of moderate to coarse grain, and a 
good keeper and shipper. 

c. Early Red Flat. Also called Early Red. An early 
maturing onion of flattened form, which does well on a 
cold soil, and is a good keeper. 

d. Red Bermuda. A foreign type. 

3. White Varieties. 

a. Southport White Globe. A globe onion of good 
size, of pure white skin, of white flesh and of mild flavor, 
and a good keeper. It requires better care than the yellow 
or red varieties. 

b. Silver King. The bulbs are large, flattened, of 
white flesh, and have good keeping qualities. 

c. Silver Skin. Also called White Portugal. A well 
known white variety, subject to the attack of the Dry or 
Black Neck-Rot, 

d. White Barletta. Also called White Queen, New 
Queen and White Pearl. An extra early yielder, with small, 
flattened bulbs of handsome appearance and mild in flavor, 
a good keeper, and excellent for pickling. 

e. White Bermuda. A foreign type. 



VARIETIES 23 

4. Brown Variety. 

a. Australian Brown. An early maturing variety, of 
dark brown skin, white and solid flesh, and is one of the 
earliest maturing onions we have. 

The soil, markets and climate should be taken into con- 
sideration in selecting the variety. The climatic factors 
have already been mentioned. The choice of markets and 
shipping qualities will be treated later. The soil, however, 
will be mentioned at this time. The yellow and red sorts 
are better adapted to muck soils. All kinds do well on 
sandy loams and light soils. Deep, rich alluvial soils of 
the river bottoms and delta regions are the best for the 
Egyptian, Spanish, and Bermuda types. 



CHAPTER IV 



GOOD SEED ALL IMPORTANT 



Seed. The seed is one of the most important factors 
in the growing of onions. In fact, there are few crops 
grown where good seed counts for so much as with the 
onion. Growers so generally neglect the matter of pur- 
chasing good seed that their negligence has become one of 
the limiting factors of production. There are just two im- 
portant losses that may arise from the selection of poor seed: 
(1) it may be too old, and (2) it may come from poorly 
selected bulbs. 

Vitality of Onion Seed. Experiments on the longevity 
of onion seed have been conducted by the Connecticut 
Station with the results given in the following table:* 

Vitality of Onion Seed 



CALIFORNIA GROWN SEEDS. 


_, No- 
Samples 


Per 
Cent. 


Seed stated to be less than one year old 


400 


88.18 




Seed stated to be between one and two years old 


220 


77.46 


Seed stated to be between two and three years old . . 


2.023 


57.34 


Seed stated to be between three and four years old . . 


1 


10.00 



Plotted by curve in Chart 3, it will readily be seen that 
onion seed should not be used the second year. The best 
of onion seed should run from 95 per cent to 100 per cent in 
germinating power. The loss in production from the best 
of old seed, no matter how thickly sown, will be greater 

* Connecticut Station Biennial Report, 1909-1910, part 12. 

24 



VITALITY OF ISEED 



25 



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Chart 3. Germination Test of Onion Seed. 



than the cost of now seed; for, while the germination of old 
seed may run even as high as 80 per cent, a great many of 
the plants will die. Nine hundred and thirty-seven samples 
of Connecticut grown onion seed were also tested by the 
Connecticut Station during seventeen consecutive years. 
The seed has always been less than one year old when 
tested. The result showed that 75.1 per cent had germin- 
ating power, a rather lower per cent than we might expect. 
Of the fresh seed, 62 per cent was the lowest and 89 per 
cent was the highest test at any time during the seventeen 
years. Of course, the seed tested was of the market run 
and may not have been washed to take out the light stuff. 
All seed should be tested to ascertain its germinating powers. 
The desirable grade should run from 85 per cent to 90 per cent. 



ONIOXS 



Testing the Seed. Onion seed may be tested for ger- 
mination by counting out one hundred seeds from a repre- 
sentative sample or lot for the purpose of germinating. 
Several methods are in vogue. One good way, a fair test 
and yet severe, consists in planting the seeds in a box of 
moist soil. Place the box in a warm, light place. The 
seed must not only germinate but produce plants. Poor 

seed will often germinate, 
but the seedlings lack the 
vitality to push up 
through the soil and make 
plants. Testing several 
lots of one hundred seeds 
each is, of course, more 
exact, but not necessary, 
unless the first test proves 
disappointing. In the lat- 
ter event, other tests 
should follow to prove the 
merits of the first trial. 

Trueness to Type. 
Chart 4, pages 00 and 00, 
with its key on pages 00 
and 00, shows the result- 
ing crops from the general 
run of seed purchased on 
the American markets to- 
day. The key shows the 
strain or variety as well as 
the name of the seedsman. 
These experiments were 
conducted by the Ohio 
Figure 2. Bottle Type. Experiment Station in co- 





i 


i. 








¥ i 












- m 




■* H* 


iff 




mm 


"^yr> 





VARIETY AND STRAIN TEST 



21 



Chart 4. Onion Variety and Strain Test 



Onion 
No. 


Globe 


Per 
Cent 


Scul- 
lions 


Per 
Cent 


Bottle 


Per 

Cent 


Flat 


Per 
Cent 


Off 
Col. 


Per 
Cent 


1 


578 
980 
390 
400 
715 
292 
295 
235 

60 
150 
100 

19 
640 
468 


90.9 
93.8 
50.3 
62.4 
88.9 
65.8 
73.7 
86.7 
46.9 
35.6 
90.1 
63.4 
89.4 
94.6 






33 

48 
360 
230 

62 
116 


5.2 
4.6 

46.4 
35.9 

7.7 
26.1 


18 
"2" 

2 
6 

4 

90 

3 

48 
2 

2 
4 


2.8 

".3' 

.3 

.7 

.9 

22.5 

1.1 

37.6 

.5 

1.8 

13.3 


7 
16 
21 

9 
20 
31 
15 

6 

5 


1.1 


2 






1.6 


3 

4 


2 


.3 


2.7 
1.4 


5 
6 

7 


1 
1 


.1 

.2 


2.8 

7. 

3.8 


8 
9 


4 


1.5 


23 
15 

270 

8 

3 

74 

26 


8.5 
11.7 
63.9 

7.2 
10. 
10.3 

5.2 


2.2 

3.8 


10 








11 






1 
1 
2 


.9 


12 
13 


3 


10. 


3.3 
.3 


14 






1 


.2 




15 










16 


115 
137 
69 
138 
140 
605 
1,420 
960 
890 


90.6 
91.3 
93.3 
80.2 
20.1 
78.2 
97.4 
93.8 
97.6 






11 

9 

1 

23 

5 

50 

13 

35 

19 


8.6 
.6 

1.3 

13.4 

.7 

6.4 
.9 

3.4 

2.1 






1 
1 
2 

10 
11 
24 
23 
28 
3 


.8 


17 






3 

2 

1 

540 

95 

2 


2. 

2.7 

.6 

77.6 

12.3 

.1 


.7 


18 






2.7 


19 






5.8 


20 






1.6 


21 






3.1 


22 






1.6 


23 






2.8 


24 










.3 


25 












26 






















27 


450 
100 
235 

90 
110 
522 
275 
293 

82 
253 
155 
262 
265 

50 

90 


79.8 

84. 

59.5 

73.7 

63.1 

55.3 

57.1 

67.7 

65.1 

74.6 

66.5 

51.1 

38.8 

52.6 

58.4 






105 

16 

157 

15 

60 

395 

195 

131 

30 

74 

70 

230 

410 

45 

60 


18.6 
13.4 
39.7 
12.6 
34.5 
41.9 
40.4 
30.3 
23.8 
21.8 
30.4 
44.8 
60.1 
47.4 
38.4 


4 


.7 


5 

3 

3 

12 

2 
26 
7 
1 
8 
8 
3 
1 
5 


.9 


28 






2.6 


29 










.8 


30 
31 


1 


.8 


4 
2 


3.2 
1.2 


9.7 
1.2 


32 






2.8 


33 






5 
8 
6 
4 
4 


1. 

1.8 
4.8 
1.2 
1.7 


1.5 


34 






.2 


35 






6.3 


36 






2.4 


37 






1.4 


38 


20 
2 


3.9 
.3 


.2 


39 






.8 


40 








41 






4 


2.7 

















28 



ONIONS 



Chart 4 — Continued 



Onion 

No. 


Globe 


Per 

Cent 


Scul- 
lions 


Per 
Cent 


Bottle 


Per 
Cent 


Flat 


Per Off 
Cent Col. 


Per 
Cent 


42 


545 
365 
125 
275 
385 


64.8 
74.5 
84.5 
67.7 
53.4 






290 

111 

7 

127 

310 


34.5 
22.6 
4.7 
31.3 
43. 


"s" 

2 

4 


' 1.6' 
1.4 
1. 


6 

6 

14 


.7 


43 






1.3 


44 






9.4 


45 








46 






26 


3.6 


47 












48 


450 


51.5 






420 


48.1 






3 


.4 


49 












50 






















51 


122 

25 
130 

85 
122 
105 

862 

490 

85 

60 

19 

228 

405 

785 

395 


92.4 
33.3 
86.1 
77.9 
68.5 
67.3 
88.7 
85.8 
51.2 
66.7 
70.4 
83.5 
43.2 
73.9 
59.6 


5 
3 

8 

2 


3.8 

.4 

5.3 

1.8 






4 


.3 


1 

1 

1 

5 

5 

8 

34 

25 

43 

15 


.8 


52 


46 

12 

17 

45 

43 

23 

13 

16 

15 

8 

19 

530 

270 

255 


61.3 

7.9 

15.6 

25.3 

27.5 

2.4 

2.3 

9.6 

16.7 

29.6 

6.9 

56.5 

25.4 

38.4 


1.4 


53 






.7 


54 






4.7 


55 


6 


3.4 


2.8 


56 






5.2 


57 






52 
42 
22 


5.3 

7.4 

13.2 


3.6 


58 
59 


1 


.2 


4.3 

26. 


60 






16.6 


61 












62 
63 


4 


1.5 


17 

1 


6.6 
.1 


4 
2 

7 
9 


1.5 
.2 


64 






.7 


65 
66 


1 


.1 


3 


.5 


1.4 


67 


285 
260 
185 
105 
14 


75.8 

73. 

76.8 

61. 

12.4 


3 

1 


.8 
.3 


80 
85 
47 
67 
9 


21.3 
24. 
19.5 
39. 
7.9 






8 
7 

2 


2.1 


68 
69 


3 

7 


.8 
2.8 


1.9 

.8 


70 








71 

72 


11 


9.7 


77 


68.2 


2 


1.8 


73 


260 
115 


42.1 

77.7 






13 
25 


2.1 
16.9 


330 
5 


53.5 
3.4 


14 


2.3 


74 


3 


2. 




75 












r 













KEY TO ONION TEST 29 



Key to Onions Sown in the Onion Variety and Strain Test 

Onion No. 1 — Henderson's Yellow Globe Danvers 

2— Stoke's Yellow Globe Danvers 

3 — Farquhar's Yellow Globe Danvers 

4 — Thorburn's Yellow Globe Danvers 

5 — Dreer's Yellow Globe Danvers 

6 — Maule's Yellow Globe Danvers 

7 — Thorburn's Yellow Danvers 

8 — Stoke's Philadelphia Yellow Globe Danvers 

9 — Stoke's Yellow Danvers. 
10 — Dreer's Australian Yellow Globe 
11 — Thorburn's Large Yellow Globe 
12— May's Yellow Globe 
13 — Vicer's Ohio Yellow Globe 
14 — Horr-Warner's Ohio Yellow Globe 
15 — Stoke's Michigan Yellow Globe 
16— Stoke's Ohio Yellow Globe 
17 — May's Michigan or Ohio Yellow Globe 
18— Maule's Ohio Yellow Globe 
19 — May's Yellow Globe Danvers 
20 — Maule's Mammoth Silver King 
21 — Burpee's Yellow Danvers 
22 — Burpee's Southport Yellow Globe 
23 — Vaughan's Fancy Yellow Globe Danvers 
24— Carle's Ohio Yellow Globe 
25 — Plot not planted 
26— Maule's Southport Yellow Globe 
27 — Henderson's Southport Yellow Globe 
28— Stoke's Southport Yellow Globe 
29 — Farquhar's Southport Yellow Globe 
30— May's Southport Yellow Globe 
31 — Dreer's Southport Yellow Globe 
32 — Stoke's Mammoth Yellow Prizetaker 
33 — Dreer's Prizetaker 
34 — Henderson's Prizetaker 
35 — Farquhar's Prizetaker 
36— Maule's Prizetaker 

37 — Thorburn's Yellow Globe Spanish Prizetaker 
38 — Farquhar's Ailsa Craig 
39— Stoke's Ailsa Craig 
40 — May's Ailsa Craig 
41 — Thorburn's Ailsa Craig 
42 — Maule's New Commercial 
43— Maule's Southport White Globe 
44— Stoke's Southport White Globe 
45 — Dreer's Southport White Globe 
46 — Ferry's Yellow Globe Danvers 
47 — Vick's Yellow Globe Danvers 



30 ONIONS 



Key to Onions Sown in the Onion Variety and Strain Test 

Onion No. 48 — Ferry's Michigan Yellow Globe 
49 — Plot not planted 
50 — Plot not planted 
51 — Farquhar's Southport White Globe 
52— Stoke's Southport Red Globe 
53 — Farquhar's Southport Red Globe 
54 — Dreer's Southport Red Globe 
55 — Maule's Southport Red Globe 
56 — Henderson's Southport Red Globe 
57 — Dreer's Large Red Wethersfield 
58 — Maule's Large Red Wethersfield 
59 — Henderson's Large Red Wethersfield 
60 — Stoke's Australian Brown 
61 — Farquhar's Australian Brown 
62 — Dreer's Australian Brown 
63— Carle's Ohio Yellow Globe 
64 — Burpee's Yellow Globe Danvers 
65 — Vaughan's Southport Yellow Globe, 
66 — Livingston's Ohio Yellow Globe 
67 — Johnson's Philadelphia Yellow Globe Danvers 
68 — Burpee's Southport Yellow Globe 
69 — Johnson's True Round Yellow Danvers 
70 — Johnson's New Early Yellow Globe 
71 — Bolgiano's Yellow Globe Danvers 
72 — Livingston's Select Yellow Globe Danvers 
73 — Johnson's Southport Yellow Globe 
74 — Vaughan's Early Flat Yellow Danvers 
75 — Plot a duplicate of 24 and 63 

operation with the writer. They have not been published 
in bulletin form. A glance at the chart will reveal the fact 
that the onion seed market is deplorable. For instance, 
look at onion No. 6. It is supposed to be a Yellow Globe 
Danvers, and yet it has no good features to commend it. 
So far as the type is concerned, it is 65.8 per cent globe. 
It shows .2 per cent scullions, 9 per cent flat, 7 per cent 
off color and 26.1 per cent bottle. The bottle onion is, as 
the term indicates> a long drawn out onion. Its keeping 
qualities are likely to be poor. Now look at onion No. 71. 
It is also of poor character, going by the name of Yellow 
Globe Danvers, but is 68.2 per cent flat. It is also 1.8 per 



VARIETY AND STRAIN TEST 




Figure 3. Flat Type. 



cent off color, 7.9 per 
cent bottle, and has 
9.7 per cent scullions, 
leaving but 12.4 per 
cent of the globe type 
after which the onion 
is named. The mat- 
ter of scullions does 
not seem to be so 
serious, as the percent- 
age of these is never 
more than 10, a result 
due, perhaps, to the 
fact that they are of 
such poor quality as 
to be incapable of perpetuating themselves. The average 
number of scullions is .6 per cent. Off color is perhaps 
the most serious handicap that an onion may have; for 
there is nothing quite so prominent as an odd colored 
onion in the crate or sack. It will be observed that there 
is in no case more than 26 per cent off color. The impor- 
tant thing, however, is the fact that but eight of the sixty- 
six strains that germinated scored perfect in color. The 
average percentage of off color is 2.7. In the bottle and 
flat types we have the greatest extremes. The widest 
variance of the former is 63.9 per cent, and of the latter, 
77.6 per cent. The average of the bottle is 21.2 per cent, 
and of the flat, 5.5 per cent. 

Onion No. 24 is the best of the whole group. It might 
be said that the bulbs for this seed were home selected, 
being picked from onions held in several commercial stor- 
ages. It is the Ohio Yellow Globe (Yellow Globe Danvers) 
and, according to the method of scoring used, is 97.6 per 



32 OyiONS 

cent perfect. It is 2.1 per cent bottle; but the most serious 
criticism, perhaps, is the fact that it is .3 per cent off color. 
It will be remembered, however, that only eight of the 
sixty-six have perfect scores in color and the percentage off 
is very low. Onion No. 22 might be regarded as the second 
best, but for the fact that the percentage off is mostly in 
color. This scores the onion lower than the same percent- 
age off in shape. Onion No. 14 should undoubtedly be 
rated second, both on account of its high percentage of 
globe onions in the lot and because it is perfect in color. 
This strain again is one built up by growers selecting from 
thousands of bushels of bulbs. 

Home Grown Seed. It is on account of the risk taken 
in purchasing seed at large that many growers prefer raising 
their own. It is necessary for the grower to depend upon 
the seedsman, if he buys in the market; for there is no way 
of distinguishing poor seed by ordinary inspection. Ger- 
mination does not tell the whole story. For seed purposes 
the best bulbs are selected. A clear cut ideal of the exact 
shape, size, color, thickness of shuck and length of neck is 
the first requisite. Secondly, seed should be grown from 
bulbs of the exact type for the greatest possible number of 
generations. 

The purpose for which the onion is grown, as well as the 
various local conditions with which the gardener must contend, 
makes the shape of the onion important. In general it 
may be said that a flat onion is earlier than a globe shaped 
onion of the same strain. Earliness, on the other hand, 
means a shorter growing season, and, consequently, a smaller 
number of bushels per acre. The converse is also true, 
without reference to other qualities, that the longer, drawn- 
out, bottle type of onion requires an extension of time in 
which to mature. Late maturity means more bushels per 



IDEAL SHAPE 



33 




34 ONIONS 

acre, but, since the crop must be harvested within season, 
late maturity is likely to mean poor keeping quality. One 
must decide somewhere between the extreme flat and the 
long, drawn-out, bottle onion. Figures 2, 3 and 4 show 
the extreme and ideal shapes of onions. 

Relative to keeping quality, size is just as important as 
shape. Large onions are poor keepers, unless they have a 
lengthened season in which to mature. Still, the market 
demands a good sized onion; hence, in order to produce 
maximum yields through a series of years and yet meet 
the demand of the market, one must consider shape and 
size as of great importance. 

Color should be representative of the variety. A deep 
rich, bright colored onion will often sell at several cents 
per bushel more than light, faded out, or off color stock. 

Thickness of shuck or skin varies considerably with the 
different strains. The thicker the shuck, the better the 
shipping qualities. Other things being equal, a thick 
shuck is preferable. 

Our ancestral type of onions had thick necks. Through 
centuries of selection the present commercial onion has 
been developed from its primitive stage. Scullions and 
bulbs having thick necks represent a reversion toward the 
primitive type. Bulbs having conical tops may be said to 
have a tendency in that direction. Thick-necked onions, 
even though it be possible to clip the tops, are more sub- 
ject to decay, as the living green tissues present a ready 
means for the bacteria of decay to enter the bulb. For seed 
purposes one should be careful to avoid onions having or 
tending to have thick necks. 

Growing Seed. One method of growing onion seed con- 
sists in selecting the best bulbs from storage stock each 
year. The best looking onions are picked out at the time 



GROWING SEED 35 

of screening and placed in separate crates. The bulbs are 
planted in early spring. During the summer tall seed stalks 
are produced, bearing a ball of seed at the tip. The seed 
is gathered, threshed out and used the following year for 
growing the commercial crop. This method is superior to 
planting the average run of onions, even though the best 
grade of storage stock is used. 

The second method is essentially the same so far as the 
details of growing the crop are concerned. A comparatively 
small number of the very choicest specimens are selected. 
These are known as mother bulbs. The mother bulbs are 
planted out and produce a crop of seed. Instead of being 
used for commercial purposes this crop of seed is kept sep- 
arate and planted out in the spring. The choicest of the 
bulbs grown from the seed are planted out the third } T ear 
and the resulting seed is saved. With the exception of 
what is saved to continue the choice seed stock, this seed is 
sold or used for the general crop. The second method is 
the one used by the more progressive seed growers. 

Necessity forces one to use the first method for immedi- 
ate needs. By planning, however, one can adopt the second 
method to provide for future needs. Two important things 
are necessary: one is a small amount of capital; the other, 
a large amount of patience. So far as capital is concerned 
the grower has a tangible asset at the end of each season, 
worth more than the effort required in promoting this plan. 
At the end of the first season the grower would not part 
with his seed from the mother bulbs for an equal quantity 
of ordinary seed. If the original selection of the mother 
bulbs were of the best, at the end of the second season one 
should expect a larger and better quality crop of onions. 
At the end of the third season, if the law of selection holds 
true, a crop of superior quality seed will be produced. 



36 ONIONS 

So far as permanency in the onion business is concerned, 
it is indeed worth while to take pains with seed selection 
and seed growing. Too many of us care little about taking 
the infinite pains in our work that spells Success. One is 
reminded of the old savage, who, after having tried civili- 
zation for forty years, decided to return to savagery and 
spend his old age, saying that civilization was not worth 
the trouble. 

The Seed Crop. It is essential to use upland soil for 
the seed crop. The high nitrogen content of muck soils is 
undesirable. A fertile, loamy, well drained soil containing 
an abundance of lime is the best. A good wheat or oats 
soil is usually a good soil for growing onion seed. Fertilizer 
containing a small amount of nitrogen, a fair amount of 
phosphorus and a good amount of potash, is required. A 
one per cent nitrogen, eight per cent . phosphorus, ten per 
cent potash mixture, or thereabouts, should answer the pur- 
pose. Depending upon the fertility of the soil, between 
three hundred and eight hundred pounds per acre should be 
used. 

The bulbs to be used for seed purposes should be allowed 
to fully mature before harvesting. Medium specimens of 
the large, mild onions will keep better for seed purposes 
than representative size bulbs. They are given the same 
care the best of growers give their storage stock. Heating, 
sweating, or freezing will cause them to sprout before time 
to plant in the spring, and will, therefore, weaken the 
vitality of the seed plant. The bulbs are planted during 
early spring, about the same time that the seed is drilled- 
for the main crop. They are planted in rows wide enough 
apart for horse cultivation. A one-horse plow or any other 
plow-like tool that will open up a furrow four inches deep 
is used to lay out the rows. The bulbs are placed upright 



THE SEED CROP 37 

in the bottom of the furrow and covered. The distance 
between the bulbs should about equal their diameter. The 
larger the bulb the greater the distance apart. From 125 
to 150 bushels will be required for an acre of ground. 

The onion seed ground should be cultivated lightly with 
the object of preserving the moisture and killing any weeds. 
As the season advances the soil should be worked towards 
the row, in order to give better support to the seed stalks. 
Should some of the stalks show weakness, a little hand work 
may be necessary in banking up the soil firmly around the 
top of the bulb. Figure 5 shows an onion seed crop ap- 
proaching harvest time. The seed itself turns black at a 
very early date and furnishes no indication of maturity, so 
far as color is concerned. The heads are gathered just 
before the earliest maturing seed pods shatter when handled. 
The stems are clipped at about three inches from the head. 
The field is gone over several times, cutting off only those 
heads that are ready. 

The stalk heads should be spread out on a tight floor in 
an airy place for curing. Should the floor space prove 
insufficient, trays with wire bottoms may be constructed 
so as to rack together. The seed should be stirred quite 
frequently, especially if more than two or three inches 
deep. One should, however, spread it out as thinly as 
possible. Dryness of seed from the day of harvesting is 
of great importance. Dampness at any time tends to 
weaken the vitality, which, if once lost, is never regained. 

Onion seed is threshed out any time during the fall or 
winter. For small quantities a flail is used; for larger 
amounts a regular threshing machine. After threshing the 
light weight seed, small particles of hulls and other foreign 
matter not previously removed are taken out with a fanning 
mill. Not all of the light weight seed is taken out by this 



38 



ONIONS 




THE SEED CROP 39 

latter process. Some growers wash their seed in addition 
to running it through the fanning mill. The seed should 
be washed in a tub or barrel of water. The lighter seed, 
regarded as inferior in germinating and healthy plant pro- 
ducing qualities, remains on the surface. When the water 
is poured out of the tub, the heavy seed on the bottom is 
spread out thinly on stretched canvas in an airy or warm 
place. The canvas permits any surplus water to drain 
away quickly. The seed is frequently stirred to assist 
evaporation. If the operation is carried through rapidly, 
no harm will result. Should the grower desire to remove 
the light seed from his supply, but fear the process, he can 
wait until time to seed in the field. 

After threshing and fanning, the seed is again spread 
out so as to prevent heating. From three to four pounds 
of seed may be expected from each bushel of onions planted. 
Four or five hundred pounds per acre is regarded as a good 
crop. 



CHAPTER V 
FERTILIZERS: LIME AND MANURE 

Commercial Fertilizers. Originally it was thought muck 
lands needed no fertilizers. They were supposed to con- 
tain unlimited stores of plant foods, sufficient to supply 
crops indefinitely. Muck soil is rich in that it is made up 
largely of organic matter and contains large quantities of 
nitrogen. In the early days some well decomposed mucks 
with the addition of nothing but wood ashes grew enor- 
mous crops of onions for a few years. Muck soils, 
however, have their limitations, and where they are farmed 
intensively it has been found profitable to use large quan- 
tities of fertilizers. 

The agencies that render nitrogen available for the use 
of the plant do not start to work until the ground is thor- 
oughly warmed up and the season pretty well advanced; 
hence an application of nitrogen early in the season is of 
great advantage in giving the plants a proper start. By 
mid-season the nitrogen producing activities of the soil are 
of great assistance to the crop. 

The potash found in soils is a result of decomposition 
of feldspars, present in clay soils, but not found in mucks. 
Consequently we have a very limited amount present in 
mucks, depending largely upon the materials washed in 
after the formation of the organic matter. In addition, 
the onion is known to be a gross feeder of potash. Large 
quantities are used in making the bulb. Potash is the 
limiting factor so far as the elements of fertility are con- 
cerned, and the results obtained in many cases are directly 
dependent upon the amounts added. 

40 



COMMERCIAL FERTILIZERS 41 

The best experimental work on fertilizers for onions on 
muck soils is that of the Cornell Station. These experi- 
ments were continued for three years and consisted of 
eighteen plots having combinations of the three important 
elements of plant food. Chart 5 gives the results of seven- 
teen of these plots. Phosphoric acid and potash gave the 
largest increase in crop production. The largest single 
yield being plot six, which had 600 pounds of sulphate of 
potash and 1,000 pounds of acid phosphate per acre. The 
increases from nitrate of soda were relatively small. The 
next two heaviest yields were plots twelve and thirteen. 
Both of these carried 500 pounds of nitrate of soda, thus 
demonstrating the utility of small applications of nitrogen. 
The yield decreased with the largest application of raw 
rock phosphate. The results, with lime added across the 
plots, indicated that the soil experimented upon needed but 
little calcium. Manure, however, was beneficial upon the 
cross plot treatment. These experiments bear out the 
practice of the majority of growers, who use fertilizers 
containing little or no nitrogen, but having large amounts 
of potash. The Cornell Station recommends the following 
fertilizer standards for muck soils. They should be applied 
at the rate of 2,000 pounds per acre for truck crops. 
2 to 3 per cent of nitrogen. 
4 to 5 per cent of phosphorus 
10 to 15 per cent of potash. 



42 



OX IONS 



Chart 5 






1 — Check 


Per Acre 




Yields 

11,000 lbs. 




600 lbs. 
1,000 " 
500 " 




19,918 " 




19,086 " 




18,201 " 


5 — Check 


17,612 " 


Q — Sulphate of potash 


600 " 
1,000 " 

600 " 
1,000 " 

600 " 
1,000 " 






Acid phosphate 


26,317 " 


7 — Sulphate of potash 

Nitrate of soda. 




21,131 " 


Nitrate of soda 


19,056 " 


9 — Check 


13,207 " 


10 Check 






14,302 " 




200 " 
500 " 
500 " 
800 " 
500 " 
500 " 
200 " 
1,500 " 
500 " 










22,371 " 










Nitrate of soda . 


24,517 " 










Nitrate of soda 


24,852 " 




19,824 " 




1,200 " 
1.000 " 
2,000 " 






16 — Raw ground rock phosphate 

17 — Raw ground rock phosphate 

18 — Check 


16,211 " 
14,435 " 

15,818 " 











Cross Plot Treatment of Lime and Manure, Each Application across 
One Third of All Plots 



A— Check. . 
B — Lime. . . 
C — Manure. 



Per Acre 



1,500 lbs. CaO 
8 tons 



Yields 

15,100 lbs. 
16,900 " 
19,300 " 



Good crops of onions are grown with a smaller per acre 
application where onions follow other heavily fertilized 
crops or where manure carries a part of the elements of 
fertility. With large applications it is essential to have 
other crop growing conditions in the best possible shape, in 



LIME 43 

order that returns may be realized sufficient to warrant 
application. 

Lime. As with upland soils, the fact that some mucks 
need lime cannot be disputed on good grounds. Further- 
more, the decomposition of large amounts of organic matter 
in mucks makes them especially subject to accumulative 
acid conditions. After the soil is well drained and aerated, 
unless neutralized by a natural supply of lime, an applica- 
tion sufficient to counteract the acidity of the surface soil 
is advantageous. Where the muck is underlaid by beds 
of marl or' limestone, the content may be sufficient for an 
indefinite period. On ordinary mucks about 2,000 pounds 
of limestone per acre, applied from every three to six years, 
will usually be found sufficient. Limestone is to be pre- 
ferred to the quicklime. The latter has an undesirable 
caustic action upon the organic matter in mucks. 

Manures. Since mucks are made up largely of organic 
matter, some growers use no manure on their land. Many 
persons are not so favorably situated as to be able to cover 
large areas with manure. Other growers make occasional 
applications, perhaps once in three years. Whatever may 
be the practice, it is generally conceded that the bacteria 
found in manures are especially beneficial to the organic 
matter of new and raw muck soils. They assist in decom- 
position and prove invaluable in the way of adding benefi- 
cial organisms of decay. 

Manures should be applied to muck soils upon some 
previous crop, unless well composted. Coarse and raw 
manures are likely not only to contain large amounts of 
weed seed but to furnish a breeding place for the onion 
maggot. They also tend to keep the soil open, thus making 
it too dry for the crop. 



CHAPTER VI 

PREPARATION OF THE SEED BED AND SEED 
PLANTING 

Preparation of the Soil. The best results and the 
greatest yields are obtained by caring for the work in a 
most thorough manner on a moderate acreage. More 
careful fitting of the land is required for but few other 
crops. The land is usually plowed in the fall, and, unless 
exceptionally well drained, is laid off in beds from sixty to 
eighty feet in width. These beds run the width or length 
of the field, as the local circumstances may demand. The 
plow furrows for the first few j^ears are turned towards the 
center of the beds. This practice produces a slightly convex 
surface, or bed, causing any surplus water, especially that 
from spring rains, to run off rapidly. The general land 
however should be level, so as to prevent washing, since 
the seed is drilled rather shallow and the roots of the young 
plants are near the surface. It should not be possible for 
water to stand upon the onion bed any period of time after 
the seed is planted. All low or hollow spots should be 
filled, else the crop is likely to be partially or completely 
destroyed within the area having poor surface drainage. 
For the purpose of leveling, a plank set upon edge may be 
used. The plank which acts as a scraper, is equipped with 
thills for one horse and handles for the driver. The handles 
are used to press the plank into the soil, so as to catch up 
some of it, and are lifted slightly when the low places are 
reaches, thus dumping it. Some earth will be carried from 
the higher to the lower places. In this way a better level 
may be secured. 

44 



PREPARATION OF SOIL 



4 r , 



Various kinds of disks, harrows, drags and smoothing 
boats are used to prepare the soil. Individual growers have 
their own preferences. The land is first disked, or harrowed, 
and then dragged. Fertilizers should be well worked into 
the soil. As the onion is a surface feeder, it is best to keep 




Figure 6. Fertilizer Spreader. 



the elements of its food in the top few inches. A spreader, 
like that shown in Figure 6, is necessary for this purpose. 
If the land is loose, a roller must be used to pack it down. 




Figure 7. Planker for Smoothing Ground. 



46 



ONIONS 



Over working muck soils may render them liable to drifting. 
A heavy wind upon a dry soil may prove fatal to the seed 
before it is out of the ground. The soil should be smoothed 
before seeding. Three or four planks, having their edges 
spiked together, are sometimes used. Figure 7 shows a 




Figure 8. Onion Seed Drill. 



DRILLING THE SEED 47 

planker made in this way. All horse tracks are filled in by 
its use, and the bed is ready for the drills. 

Drilling the Seed. Hand seed drills, as shown in Figure 
8, are used in planting onion seed. The drills are set in 
accordance with the germination test. If the seed is not 
too old and comes according to the test, the drills can be 
regulated so as to obviate the necessity of thinning. Test 
the drills by running over a long strip of paper marked 
off in feet. From sixteen to eighteen seeds per running 
foot will be a sufficient amount. Onion seed is usually 
drilled in rows fourteen inches apart, and from four to 
five pounds per acre are used. The exception is in the 
case of white seed, which is generally sown at the rate 
of six pounds per acre. Keeping the rows straight and 
at an equal distance apart facilitates cultivation. Several 
drills are sometimes hitched together and pulled by a horse. 

In heavy soil the seed should be drilled about one half 
an inch deep. In mucks it is put into the ground from 
three fourths of an inch to two inches deep. Ordinarily 
three fourths of an inch is deep enough, but since the muck 
areas are so flat and usually unprotected from the winds, a 
few days of dry weather will make it possible for a high 
wind to blow the seed out, if it is put into the ground only 
three quarters of an inch. Two inches may be too much, 
if the soil is heavy or well packed, but may be considered 
a right depth, if the soil is loose. A few plantings for wind- 
breaks are of decided advantages and are used in some 
places. 

Early seeding is of importance, since the bulbs make 
most of their growth before hot weather comes on. In 
northern regions seed is planted just as early as the ground 
can be fitted, the latter part of March or the first part of 
April. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE LESSER ONION CROPS 

Onion Sets. The onion set industry has attained more 
importance around Chicago, Illinois; Louisville, Kentucky; 
and Chillicothe, Ohio, than perhaps in any other localities. 
Onion sets are merely partially grown or small sized onions, 
their diameter running not more than one half or three 
quarters of an inch. From forty to one hundred and twenty 
pounds of seed are used on an acre. The rows are spaced 
from seven to fourteen inches apart. The thickness of the 
onions and the consequent crowded condition produces a 
very small bulb. The difference in the amount of seed used 
depends largely upon the fertility of the soil and width of 
rows. With rich soils more seed will be needed to keep the 
plants crowded lest the onions grow too large. 

The seed is sometimes spread into the row about two 
inches wide by means of a speciala ttachment to the drill. 
It is sown about the same time, and the crop is cared for 
in about the same way as onions grown for bulbs. The 
crop is ready to harvest in about ninety days after drilling 
the seed. Onion sets are pulled just after the necks begin 
to dry up, but while the stems are still erect. At the time 
of pulling, the tops are twisted off. The bulbs are crated 
and either cured in covered stacks in the field or hauled to 
curing sheds. Bulbs over three quarters of an inch in 
diameter are screened out and sold for picklers. 

Green or Bunch Onions. Green or bunch onions are 
produced in several ways. The sets are usually planted in 
early spring and are pulled whenever they attain the desired 

48 



PICKLE ONIONS 49 

size. Small sets will produce green onions in from six to 
eight weeks. The larger sets grow to proper size in less 
time. They are marketed by peeling the outer tissues off, 
washing, tying in bundles and trimming both roots and tops. 

Onions grown from seed in the ordinary manner may be 
used for green onions. The product grown from seed will 
not be ready for market as early as green onions grown 
from sets. The very earliest green onions are produced by 
fall planting of top onions, also called perennial tree onions, 
or multipliers, also called potato onions. Both of these 
onions differ from common onions and are distinct races. 
The multiplier has two or more cores, which, unless they 
are pulled as a green onion, continue to divide, and produce 
large, ripe bulbs. The core of the bulb of the top onion 
also divides, if permitted to grow beyond the green onion 
stage; but, like the multiplier, it does not attain any con- 
siderable size. The top onion sends up a slender stalk 
which bears a cluster of bulbs at the tip in the place of seed. 
Both the top cluster and the bottom divided bulbs can be 
used for green onions. They mature a little after mid- 
summer and should go through a rest stage or be cured 
before fall planting. 

In the Northern states the multipliers or top onion bulbs 
are planted early in September in rows about fourteen 
inches apart. In milder climates they may be planted 
later. The bulbs produce some growth before winter sets 
in; but during a severe winter they should be covered slightly 
with straw, loose manure or leaves. A south exposure will 
help materially in advancing the crop in spring. 

Pickle Onions. Pickle onions are small sized onions 
produced by crowding. The seed is drilled at the rate of 
from twenty-five to thirty pounds per acre. White varieties 
are largely used. The rows are usually spaced 12 inches 



50 ONIONS 

apart. Otherwise the crop receives the same general treat- 
ment as large onions. Pickle onions run larger than sets. 
They may be graded into three sizes: those smaller than 
% inches in diameter; those running from % to Vyi inches 
in diameter; and those over 1% inches in diameter. A good 
demand exists for onions used in pickling during the late 
summer and autumn. 

Transplanted Onions. The transplanting method con- 
sists in starting plants under glass in late winter and trans- 
planting them to the field in early spring. The crop then 
has the advantage of cooler weather for the greater part 
of its growth. It has for its object the growing of more 
bushels per acre by a maximum use of the land as well 
as growing larger and more uniform bulbs. 

This method of growing onions is used in a small way 
in a great many localities of the North. The Texas crop of 
Bermudas is grown entirely by this method. Transplanting 
may never come to be used in a large way until a trans- 
planting machine is perfected, to put the young seedlings 
in the field in a more rapid manner than is now possible, 
and yet a favorable opportunity exists to supply our markets 
with large, mild onions. Good prices are paid for domestic 
stock, and at present we are largely dependent upon Spain 
and Texas to supply the demand. 

The Giant Gibralter and Prizetaker varieties are used 
for transplanting. The seed is planted in good rich soil in 
the greenhouse or hotbed. It should be sown so as to 
give the plants plenty of room in growing. Plant at the 
rate of about two pounds of seed for an acre in the field. 
The most difficult thing about growing the seedlings is to 
time the growth, so as to have plants just the right size 
for placing in the field. It will take from eight to ten weeks' 
growth under glass to prepare for field use. One should 



TRANSPLANTED OX I OX 



51 



calculate the approximate date of field transplanting and 
from that date time his plants. From the middle of Janu- 
ary to the middle of February has been found satisfactory 
for the North. Care should be taken to prevent attack 
from dampening off fungi. A damp air and high tempera- 
ture provide the right condition for infection. The fungus 
attacks the plants above the surface and destroys them 
completely. The use of sterilized or fresh soil in the beds 
each year will obviate this trouble. Water during the 
morning hours, so that the plants will dry off quickly and 
keep the air in a dry condition by proper ventilation. 

The tops of the plants should be clipped from time to 
time, keeping them at a height of about four inches. At 
the time of transplanting both tops and roots are pruned. 




Figure 9. Onion Plants Ready to Transplant. 



52 



ONIONS 



The plants should be about the thickness of a pencil for 
field use, as shown in Figure 9. One should see that they 
do not get too large and crowd one another. The seedlings 
should be subject to temperatures more nearly corresponding 
to that outside at the time of transplanting and the water 
supply should be lessened. This is known as "hardening 
off." Good ventilation is given in the greenhouse. If 
hotbeds are used, the sash are removed a greater length of 
time each day as the season progresses, until, finally, they 
are left off entirely. Plants grown in boxes in the house 
can be taken in and out to harden. The young plants 
can stand light frosts after transplanting. 

Loamy, upland 
soils, or those having 
a good content of 
organic matter are 
used for the field 
crop. Mucks are not 
at present generally 
employed. The trans- 
planting method 
should, however, ap- 
peal to owners of 
muck tracts and it 
deserves a more thor- 
ough trial. The plant 
bed receives about 
the same treatment 
as a seed bed for the 
crop grown directly 
from seed. The onions 
are set in rows four- 
teen inches apart, and Figure 10. Transplanting Onions in the Field. 




TRANSPLANTED ONIONS 



53 





54 



ON 10 XX 



the plants are spaced from four to six inches apart in the 
row, the width depending upon the fertility of the soil and 
the desires of the grower to set the largest possible num- 
ber of plants per acre. It will take all the working days 
in a month for one man to transplant an acre. Four or 




Figure 12. Ohio Grown Transplanted Onions. 



TRANSPLANTED ONIONS 55 

five men should be employed for planting an acre, so as to 
complete the task in a reasonable length of time.- If the 
soil is heavy and dry, it may be necessary to use a dib- 
ble, but ordinarily one can work more rapidly by using 
one's fingers. Figure 10 shows the method of operation. 

The crop should be taken care of in the same manner as 
onions grown directly from seed. Little or no weeding will 
be required on upland soils. Figure 11 shows a growing 
crop of Denias. After pulling, the onions are usually cured 
in cribs or sheds. One thousand bushels, or more, may be 
expected from an acre. Since the onion is a strictly fancy 
product and commands fancy prices, the crop is graded 
and packed in the Spanish type of crate. Figure 12 shows 
a crate of Ohio grown Denias. Mild onions are marketed 
largely during the fall, when the demand is at its height. 
Large onions do not have as good keeping qualities in storage 
as the smaller varieties have; but, if they are well matured, 
sound, and of medium size, they may be kept for the early 
spring markets. 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE CULTURE OF THE ONION CROP 

Cultivation. Rains following the seeding operations 
tend to pack the soil and make it difficult for the tender 
seedlings to break through the surface. Stirring the soil by 
means of a wire weeder or scratcher obviates serious results 
from this source. This tool is from two to four feet in 
width and is run over the onion fields across the rows. 
Figure 13 shows one style of w T ire weeder. Fields are 
frequently gone over the second time with the weeder after 
the onions are out of the ground two or three inches, the 
results being highly beneficial in preserving moisture and 




Figure 13. Wire Weeder. 
56 



CULTIVATION 



57 



preventing the growth of weeds. A dust mulch is formed 
which conserves moisture and kills innumerable small weeds 
just starting. As a result, the soils, especially uplands, 
warm up faster. 

Wheel cultivators are used just as soon as the onions 
are sufficiently grown to enable one to distinguish the rows. 
There are several kinds which may be used according to 
the preference of the individual grower. The double knife 




Figure 14. Double- wheel Cultivator. 

cultivator in some form has come into general use. Figure 
14 shows one that straddles the row. The cultivator shown 
in Figure 15 goes between the rows. The blades stir the 
soil as they are pushed along by the operator, forming a 
dust mulch. Many weeds are killed outright and others 
have their root systems exposed to the sun. The fields 



58 



OXIOXS 




,:;.. * * Y®&zmmt SKfiii 



>?!$&Bmxi* 



Figure 15. Single-wheel Cultivator. 



are cultivated over every week or ten days during the early 
part of the summer. From eight to fourteen cultivations 
are necessary according to the rainfall, sunshine, tempera- 
ature and amount of weed seed in the soil. The onion is 
a shallow rooted crop and is likewise cultivated shallow to 



CULTIVATIOX 



59 



i i * 





Figure 1G. Single-wheel Cultivator with Shovels. 

prevent root injury. Some growers substitute a triple set 
of shovels for the last cultivation. The shovels turn the 
soil against the row, protecting many of the exposed bulbs 
from the sun. This gives them a better color. If run deep 
enough, the shovels sever many of the roots, thus hastening 



GO ONIONS 

maturity. This is of great advantage when the crop is 
unusually late in maturing. Figure 16 shows a single 
wheel cultivator equipped with three shovels. 

Weeding. One of the greatest economic problems is 
that of weeding. Acreages are often cut down and the 
land that would otherwise be desirable is not farmed on 
account of the labor problem, which has not as yet been 
solved in all places. Again one may see fields of onions 
abandoned to the weeds during mid-season, all because the 
plans of the grower were not adequate. Both the amount 
of labor required and the rate paid may limit the acreage. The 
amount of weeding necessary varies with the fertility of 
the soil, foulness of the land, rainfall of the season, and 
the management of the grower in combating the pests. It 
costs less to destroy small weeds than big weeds. Keeping 
ahead in one's work reduces the expense of cleaning up the 
crop. Again, if the weeds are allowed to grow up with the 




Figure 17. Height of Onions at Second Weeding. 



WEEDING 



61 



onions, becoming tall, it not only costs more to pull them, 
but the onion plants suffer from shading, robbery of plant 
food, and removal of earth from around the stem at the 
time of weeding. 

There is considerable difference in' the amount of weed 
seed in the land; but, with an average soil, two or three 
hand weedings are sufficient. With a wet season or foul 
land, the amount of labor required is tremendous. The 
bulk of the work is performed during the early part of the 
season. Figure 17 shows the size of one crop at the time of 
the second weeding. Later in the season, when the ground 
is covered with a good mulch and the onions shade it, but 
few seeds will germinate. It will cost all the way from 
fifteen to thirty-five dollars per acre to keep the land free 
from weeds. Small boys and girls are generally used for 
the work, since they are more efficient than men and their 




Figure 18. An Army of Workers Weeding and Cultivating. 



62 ONIONS 

labor is of less expense. Foreign labor is used in some 
localities where the labor problem is acute. Figure 18 
shows an army of workers weeding and cultivating. 

With care the amount of weed seed can be reduced to 
a minimum. As soon as the onions are stacked for curing 
or removed from the ground, any large quantity of weeds 
can be raked up, carried off and burned. The land can 
also be disked, or harrowed, thus destroying the smaller 
weeds while immature. A large amount of weed seed can 
also be destroyed by a good system of crop rotation. Coarse 
cultivated crops, such as celery, cabbage and potatoes, 
give better opportunity for the destruction of weeds. Hemp 
has lately been introduced in some of the northern onion 
growing sections. This crop is sown broadcast, or with a 
grain drill. It covers the ground completely and grows 
eight or ten feet high, smothering out all weed life. 

Irrigation. In the West and Southwest, the furrow, 
sub-flooding and overhead systems of irrigation are in use. 
In many places these are essential to growing a successful 
crop. In the North, irrigation is not generally practiced, 
although the overhead pipe systems are being used more 
and more every year. The pipes are carried from two to 
ten feet above the ground on posts. Nozzles are placed in 
the pipes about three feet apart. Figure 19 shows the 
overhead system of irrigation. Exclusive of pumping 
plant, such a system costs from SI 25 to $150 per acre to 
install. Where city water is to be had, the pumping plant 
is not necessary. If a pumping plant is built, the size is 
usually made sufficient to care for a third or half of the 
acreage under pipes at one time. The cost of operation 
varies according to the amount of water applied. About 
fifteen dollars per acre represents a fair allowance for this 
charge. Growers report an increase of from one fourth to 



IRRIGATION 



63 




Figure 19. 



Irrigation of Onions in the North. 



twice as many bushels of onions per acre by the use of 
overhead irrigation. With light soils and dry weather, an 
application of water is extremely helpful in preventing 
drifting. Moisture is most beneficial to onions during their 
early stages of growth. Dry conditions are essential at 
the time of ripening; hence water applied by irrigation 
would be most beneficial during the early part of the season. 
Some muck areas have too much moisture rather than not 
enough; others have an ample supply at the right depth, 
rendering irrigation unnecessary. 

The cost of installing a system of irrigation is a rela- 
tively high, per acre, investment. The installation of such 
a system is in most cases a problem of economics rather 
than one in crop production. Its utility will depend not 
only upon the increased crop production but also upon the 
value of the land, the total investment in other equipment 
and the management of the property. Since the system 



64 ONIONS 

is permanent, one must take into consideration its value 
in growing crops other than onions. In considering an 
increase in crop yield by adapting improved means of grow- 
ing a crop, the grower should first, last, and at all times, 
consider all methods of improvement. Good seed, good 
drainage, proper use of fertilizers, manure and lime, supply 
and cost of labor, rotation of crops, proper tools, adoption 
of right marketing methods, adequate buildings, and the 
irrigation of crops, are all important factors in the growing 
of onions. The grower must consider the relative im- 
portance of these factors, on the one hand, and his capital 
on the other. Even a limited amount of capital, properly 
and carefully distributed among the different factors of 
crop production, will be amply sufficient. Such a trifling 
detail as the investment of fifteen cents' worth of time in 
setting the onion drill to drop just so many seeds per foot 
may bring returns a thousand times bigger than $125 in- 
vested in an acre of irrigation. Irrigation will undoubtedly 
pay in those instances where the grower has already taken 
advantage of the most advanced methods of crop manage- 
ment and production adopted by progressive growers. It 
will be used more and more every year. The grower's 
problem, however, is to properly combine the factors of 
crop production according to his resources. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE MATURED ONION CROP 

Harvesting. No hard and fast rule can be set for the 
time of harvesting. At the time of ripening, the tops wither 
and the roots let go of the soil. The frontispiece shows a 
field ready to pull. On account of soil condition or attacks 
by pests, the crop may ripen early. On the other hand, the 
onion may die with the stem standing erect. In the latter 
event, the keeping quality will be poor. One should not wait, 
however, for the tops of such onions to break over, be they 
few or many. If grown for early market, the crop is some- 
times pulled green. The tops are clipped by hand from 
one half to one inch from the bulb with sheep shears or 
knives. The onions are screened and hurried off to market 
in well ventilated cars. If grown for quality or storage 
stock, they should be pulled as soon as ripe. Should wet 
weather set in, delay in harvesting would mean a second 
growth, rendering havesting more difficult and injuring the 
keeping quality of the crop. Yellows and reds are thrown 
into windrows for partial curing. Figure 20 shows the 
pulling operations. If thoroughly dry externally, they may 
be crated immediately; otherwise, they are permitted to 
remain upon the ground for a few days, the length of time 
depending upon the condition of the crop and the weather. 
The bulbs are crated with tops on and stacked in the field 
for complete curing. The stacks are covered with boards 
or tarpaulin for rain protection. Figure 21 shows a crop of 
onions curing in stacks. In this condition they may remain 
in the field until freezing weather, but are usually topped 

5 65 



66 



ONIONS 



#11 




Figure 20. Pulling Onions. 



within two or three weeks. In order to preserve the color 
from sun injury, the white varieties are pulled while the 
necks are still green, and topped by hand. Being more 




Figure 21. Onions Curing in Stacks. 



HARVESTING 



67 



easily injured by unfavorable weather conditions, they are 
usually carted from the field and cured under cover. Care 
should be taken to keep them dry and from heating. In 
some districts all classes of onions are cured in cribs or sheds. 
The bulbs are hauled from the fields just after crating and 
placed under cover. The sheds may be built open, with- 
out sides, consisting simply of a roof. Such a shed, fifty 
by one hundred feet, can be built for $800. Another style 
of shed is similar to a double corncrib, as seen in Figure 22. 




Figure 



Placing Onions in a Curing Shed. 



The siding is spaced for ventilation, the same as a crib. 
The two cribs are connected overhead, making a covered 
driveway between. Such a double crib 180 feet long, or 
enough cribs to total that length, will be sufficient for stor- 
ing ten thousand bushels, exclusive of the driveway, and 
will cost approximately $1,000. 



68 



ONIONS 



The use of sheds for curing is not general, but is followed 
out elaborately in some districts. Sheds and cribs are help- 
ful in preserving the color and curing the crop in the best 
possible manner, and fewer crates are needed in harvesting. 
Where the onions are marketed before freezing weather, 
they are useful in protecting the crop during the fall. 

The machine topper, operated by gasoline power, is used 
in many places to clip the tops from the bulbs, as seen in 
Figure 23. Scullions, unsound and untopped onions are 
picked from the carrier of the machine at the time of topping. 
A sorter attachment grades the onions into two principal 
sizes, those more and those less than one and one quarter 
inches in diameter. Where the machine sorter is not used, 
the onions are run over a screen set at one and one quarter 
inch, as seen in Figure 24. Such a screen is about thirty 



n 


% 




•■ 


;:,: *HI 




. 


- 








fcjJpSflHl It 7 


" :'.'./"-j 






' 1 .Hfet^VL 




. jHI 




1 T^VsiSiH^* 



Figure 23. Topping Onions by Machine. 



HARVESTING 



ti!i 




Figure 24. Onion Screen. 



inches wide, ten feet long, narrowing to a mouth fifteen 
inches wide, forty-four inches high at the top end and 
thirty-seven inches high at the bottom. The sides of the 
screen box are six inches high. Strip iron is used for the 
bottom of the screen box and is set according to the grade 
of the onions. Different screen boxes may be made for 
various grades of onions and are used interchangeably upon 
a single frame. The smaller sized onions from the general 
crop are sometimes graded again by running over a three 
quarter inch screen. These seconds, or picklers, as they 
are called, are sold in the fall, while the demand is still good 
during canning season. From the topper the onions are 
placed on the car or in storage. 



70 



ONIONS 



Where the topper has not come into general use, the 
onions are topped into crates right off the windrows, as seen 
in Figure 25, and placed in storage, or run over screens and 
placed in cars. 

Storing. For storage purposes the onion must be well 
ripened and thoroughly cured. Good storage onions should 
rattle like blocks of wood when poured from one crate to 
another. A bright appearance, gained by careful curing 



■pi 


HHPf 




t'H- 1%-' t ""■". J 


t. 

1 





Figure 25. Topping Onions by Hand. 



and avoiding lengthy exposure to the sun, is essential for 
highest market prices. Figure 26 shows a crate ready for 
storage. 

Storage buildings should provide for ample ventilation 
during the fall months and be frost-proof in winter. Dur- 
ing damp or warm days the storage openings should be 
closed, but opened again at night. Good ventilation is 
secured by providing a good inlet and outlet for air. Tile 



STORING 



71 





^j^-^ ^ jH 




/*Vi» ^*2I 


WsM \ \ \ 




H 






! '/gL^^**^ 




I ** fcir " g> iliMlliMSllBflS 


-j""'_ ! ^' 


- - -- - * . 



Figure 26. Crate Ready for Storage. 



openings in the build- 
ing foundation at the 
floor line, along the 
side wall, provide for 
the inlet of cool air. 
A trap door in the 
ceiling provides an 
outlet for warm air. 
Some storages have 
abasement. The main 
floor is constructed 
of planks, spaced so 
as to give good under 
ventilation to the 
onions above. Where 
the solid floor is used, 
crates are set upon 
strips or planks, spaced for ventilation beneath the 
stacks. Several methods of assisting the movement of 
air in the stacks are in vogue. They are all based on 
spacing the crates so as to allow openings for air movement. 
Figure 27 shows stacking and spacing in storage. 

A storage building of wood has a total of four or five 
thicknesses of boards, three or four of paper, and two dead 
air spaces from four to six inches in thickness. Such a 
building, thirty by sixty, will hold ten thousand bushels 
and will cost about $2,500. Figure 28 shows a series of 
storages convenient to loading track. 

The temperature of the storage should be kept just high 
enough to prevent freezing. From 32 to 40 degrees is the 
margin, but from 34 to 36 degrees is perhaps better. A 
stove may be necessary to heat during severe weather, 
especially if the storage is only partly filled. If the onions 



72 



OXIOXS 







- / / / 7 / / 7 / / I I i I ■*.! 



Figure 27. Onions in Storage. 




Figure 28. Onion Storage Houses. 



MARKETING 



73 



remain in storage any length of 
time they are again screened before 
putting in cars, in order to remove 
all loose peels, decayed bulbs and 
sprouted tops. During cold wea- 
ther cars should be warmed before 
loading by means of an oil stove. 
Freezing does no harm to the onion, 
if it is protected so that it will 
remain frozen until used. The 
thawing out process should be a 
gradual one. While frozen, care 
should be taken in handling; for 
they are easily bruised when in 
that condition. 

Marketing. Chart 6 shows why 
it will pay to store onions. The 
two year averages for January and 
October prices are charted. The 
prices were taken from the New 
York onion market, as reported 
by the American Agriculturist. By 
taking two year averages it will 
readily be seen that January prices 
are always higher than October 
prices, through a series of years. 
Counting in the depreciation of 
stock and the expense of storage, 
the higher prices obtained by hold- 
ing will warrant storage in most 
cases. A careful study of the 
total production soon after har- 
vest, together with a general 



ijjllpll 


B^fci 


j§ff§||jj 


m+T^ti ll' I'l 1 Tr <" 


Siptilil 


jffijg; ^ ±5 |tl|[f[j| S 4 I 


|BjJ|jtt. : pjtjf|jfrr:jit'1 


i 1 jjfe |j|rkv4Jiju%il 


giiiii. 


■1 


jjj 


il|BlBf 


jjy^j 


IS^fe 


iff IJSfe^Wni : ! f\\f 


^j+^^^g^ 


|^g|pB 



74 ONIONS 

tendency to hold or sell, will often give the grower a key 
to the situation, but even with such knowledge the grower 
cannot forecast with accuracy. The consumption itself 
will finally depend upon the coldness of winter. A long 
and steady cold winter will increase the demand remark- 
ably. Taking all things into consideration, it will be best, 
perhaps, to store a part or all of the crop each year, pro- 
vided good quality onions and good storage facilities are 
at hand, since this is the season when consumption is greatest. 

The general movement of the onion crop is toward our 
large centers of population. New York is the great onion 
market of the country. This is due not only to the number 
of people, but also to the large foreign population. One of 
the peculiar things about marketing onions is the fact that 
certain markets have developed a demand for certain stock. 
New York is a good market for all sorts, but especially 
whites and picklers. Yellows predominate in the market 
of such cities as Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, Pitts- 
burg, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo and Detroit. The 
reds are marketed in the East only to a limited extent, 
while most of them find their way to the southern cities, 
such as St. Louis, Memphis, Birmingham, New Orleans and 
Nashville, where the negro population is large. 

Whites are marketed almost entirely in bushel crates. 
Some growers have a trade name and grade the onions 
according to certain standards. Since they are harder to 
cure and store, they always command a higher price. The 
yellows and reds are marketed in sacks or in bulk according 
to the market and the desires of the customer. Sacking 
the product is almost necessary somewhere in the numerous 
steps of marketing. If the onions are nicely graded and 
put up in sacks, weighing just a trifle more than the selling 
weight, one is always repaid for his trouble. As a rule the 



MARKETING 75 

markets will more than pay for the price of sacking. The 
sacks hold from seventy to one hundred and forty pounds, 
but the one hundred pound sack may be regarded as the 
standard. 

Onions are supplied from the different sections in about 
the following order: The Northern crop comes in during 
August and lasts until the latter part of March. The 
Spanish comes into competition with this crop during the 
fall and winter. In April the Egyptian onions make their 
appearance, followed by the Texas Bermuda crop during 
May and June. The Louisville, Kentucky, section supplies 
the market during July just following the Texas crop and 
is pretty well cleaned up by the time the Northern grown 
stock appears. The Kentucky onions, like those from Texas, 
are grown under glass and transplanted. Quite an acreage 
is devoted to this crop about Louisville. It will be seen 
that the Spanish crop is the only direct competitor of the 
Northern crop. 

The official estimates of acreage in Spain were made in 
1910 for the last time when there were 11,481 acres. The 
acreage is being increased from time to time and the growers 
are becoming better organized. They are beginning to make 
their shipments under co-operative agreement. At the 
present time they have some advantage over the inland 
grower of onions in the United States. The freight rate 
from Spain to New York City is only twenty cents per 
bushel. From Ohio points, for instance, it varies from 
twelve to seventeen cents. The tariff has been recently reduced 
from forty to twenty cents per bushel, which will give the 
Spanish grower a cost of forty cents per bushel for market- 
ing, over a former marketing cost of sixty cents. The con- 
sumption of Spanish onions in other countries has been 
higher per capita than in the United States, but with the recent 



76 ONIONS 

reduction it will probably be increased; but, on account of 
the increased consumption from year to year in the United 
States and some of the handicaps attendant to an increase 
in an acreage in Spain, it may not be expected that an 
enlargement in imports will do much harm. It might be 
mentioned in passing that the lands in the province of 
Valencia, Spain, are so intensively cultivated that there are 
cases on official records where one hundred acres support 
one hundred and sixty families, and where single families 
live on the products of four tenths of an acre. The land is 
officially estimated to be worth, on an average, $650 per 
acre. Certainly under these conditions the acreage cannot 
be increased rapidly. 

Yield and Cost of Growing. The yield of onions from 
muck land varies considerably. The State averages for the 
three years of 1911-1912-1913 are given in Chart 7. The 
best growers count from four hundred to six hundred bushels 
as an excellent crop and there are occasional reports of from 
eight hundred to a thousand bushels. Estimates of the 
cost of growing an acre of onions vary from sixty to one 
hundred dollars per acre. There are a few who apply as 
much as seventy-five dollars' worth of fertilizers per acre, 
which will bring the cost of growing well up to one hundred 
and fifty dollars. While a net profit of one hundred dollars 
per acre is above the average, a profit of from one hundred 
to one hundred and fifty dollars is often made. On a cost 
basis of seventy-five dollars per acre in caring for the year's 
crop, the expenditures can be divided about as follows* 



AVERAGE PRODUCTION 



77 



300 



250 



200 



Chart 7 



150 



100 



50 



GENERAL AVERAGE. 



Average Production Taken From Crops of 1911-1912-1913. 



78 



ONIONS 



Cost of Growing One Acre of Onions 

Manuring (1-3 of a 3-year expense) $8.00 

Plowing and harrowing 8.00 

Seed 8.00 

Drilling 1.00 

Weeding 20.00 

Cultivating 14.00 

Harvesting 16.00 

$75.00 
Returns 

Average production of 300 bu. @ 50c $150.00 

Cost of production 75.00 

Net profit $75.00 

Another interesting fact is revealed in Chart 8. It will 
be seen by this that the total amount of money received for 
a crop has a relation to the total- amount of onions grown. 
Both 1912 and 1913 were years of large crops. The cash 



t 



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; ?-S^ ; 



s 



K 



ill 



m 



s 



5; 



ill 



:5usb 



lirt 



.t^ir. 



tz 



£$: 



Chart 8. A Small Crop is Worth More Than a Large Crop. 



MARKETING 79 

sale of the smaller crop of 1912 was greater than the cash 
sale of either the 1911 or 1913 crops. These figures were 
taken from the American Agriculturist Onion Crop Report. 
Other things being equal, the money value of a small crop 
is greater than the money value of a large crop. 



CHAPTER X 

ONION PESTS 
INSECTS 

Onion Maggot, Phorbia ceparum, by Meigen, and 
Pegomya cepetorum, by Meade. This insect has been 
known and widely distributed from time immemorial. It 
was first described by Meigen in 1830. It has been im- 
ported into the United States probably through some 
shipment of its food. It is often called the Imported 
Onion Maggot to distinguish it from other maggots which 
also feed on the onion. The onion maggot is well named, 
since it feeds on no other food plant than the onion. 

Economically, it is one of the most destructive pests of 
onions. It is widely distributed throughout the United 
States, being present wherever the onion has been grown 
for any length of time. Where not controlled, it has been 
known to drive the onion grower out of business. It has 
been particularly destructive during certain seasons. Severe 
attacks occurred in 1854 and 1863 in the middle and Eastern 
states. Again in 1904 from one fourth to one third of the 
crop was taken in many places. 

The onion maggot is the larva of a fly and is about 
one fourth of an inch in length when full grown. It is of 
the Dipterous family Anthomyidae The insect passes the 
winter stage partly as a pupa in the ground, and partly as 
adults in barns, farmhouses and other sheltered localities. 
If in the pupa stage, it emerges during the first few warm 
days of spring. Unless planted late to avoid the maggot, 
the onion plants are usually just above the ground when 

80 



ONION MAGGOT 



X1 



from two to six eggs are laid singly on a part of the plants 
in the field. The eggs are laid at the surface of the ground 
between the sheath or collar and in the crevices between 
the leaves. They are white and smooth in appearance 
and perceptible to the naked eye. Varying with the tem- 
perature the eggs hatch in a week or ten days. 

After hatching, the maggots or larvae burrow into the 
onion. Figure 29 shows the method of attack. They 
begin to feed immediately, and in most cases the injury 
leads to the rapid decay and 
death of the plant. The 
maggot feeds within the epi- 
dermal tissue of the plant. 
The cylindrical root is nearly 
cut apart and the plant wilts 
to the ground, as shown in 
Figure 30. From one to four 
maggots are found in each 
plant attacked. Several sizes 
may be found in the same 
plant, but they attain full 
growth in about two weeks. 
The maggot pupates in the 
surrounding ground, or some- 
times within the onion. In 
another two weeks the fly 
emerges to lay eggs for the 
second brood. The fly resem- 
bles our common house fly,, 
but is considerably smaller : 
and more distinctly gray in 
color. The second brood ap- Figure 2 g. \t Left: 
pears about the middle of ^^^^^^S^T 1 




82 



ON 10X8 



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t^Mf sv .' 


pW^£M 


ff^P^ 


sISSs*^^ J . ■» 


■■ T ~\ .7. 



Figure 30. Effect of Attack by Maggots. 



June in this locality and is the most destructive. Three 
broods usually occur in Northern climates, but the num- 
ber varies with the weather conditions and locality. 

The Seed Corn Maggot, Pegomya fusciceps, by Zett. 
The insect not only attacks corn and cole crops, 
but also the onion. The species is widely scattered and has 
been known for a long time. It came into prominence 
about 1902 and has greatly increased since that time. It 
is closely related to the onion maggot and has a similar 
life history. The treatment is the same. 

The Black Onion Fly, Trixtoxa flexa, by Wiedmann 
in 1830. The Black Onion Fly is often confused with 
the onion maggot and the seed corn maggot. A strong 
lens is needed to distinguish them. It is present in all of 
the Northern onion growing states, with the possible excep- 
tion of New England. The insect is entirely black, with 
the exception of three narrow white stripes on the wings. The 
life history is the same as that of the onion maggot, with 



BARRED-WING FLY 



83 



the exception that the fly continues to live in onions in 
storage. When attacking storage onions, bisulphide of 
carbon can be used as a fumigant, one pound to each two 
hundred cubic feet of storage. 

The Barred-Winged Onion Fly, Choetopsis oenea, 
by Wiedmann. This species will breed in decomposing 
vegetation normally. It attacks the onion less fre- 
quently than the first three species named. The fly 
belongs to the family Ortalidae the same as the black onion 
fly, and has a life history practically the same as the onion 
maggot, with the exception that the maggots pass the 
winter in the onions. All unmarketable bulbs should be 
destroyed and the storage should be treated with bisulphide 
of carbon the same as for the black onion fly. 

Control for Maggots. Methods of prevention are 
the best in the control of various kinds of maggots. 
The removal of the crop remnants, infested plants and the 
rubbish are of first importance. Where the insect has 
gained a foothold, manure and onion refuse should not be 
applied to the land, since the organic matter affords an 
excellent breeding place for the larvae. The habit of 
scattering decayed bulbs on or near onion ground, as shown 
in Figure 31, is pernicious. 




Figure 31. Decayed bulbs scattered out form an ideal breeding place for the 
larvae of the maggots. 



84 ONIONS 

A generous application of fertilizer has been found to 
be beneficial in many cases. It imparts vigor to the plants, 
assisting in the recovery of the partially injured ones; the 
rapidly growing bulb has greater resistance to the attacks 
of the larvae; and the salts of the fertilizers have an action 
on the insect itself. The Indiana Station reports successful 
results with the use of from 400 to 600 pounds of kainit 
and 200 pounds of nitrate of soda. The New Jersey Station 
recommends 600 pounds of kainit and 200 pounds of nitrate 
of soda. A partial substitution of salt in the fertilizer will 
give the desired action upon the insect itself. The ferti- 
lizer should be drilled in shallow, close to the row, or applied 
broadcast alongside the row having the soil turned away 
with a hand-plow, and later turned back. The application 
is more effective if applied after or just before a rain that 
has wet the ground pretty thoroughly. A few radishes, 
beets, cabbages, turnips or cauliflower, growing in or about 
the onion patch serve as a trap crop to catch many of the 
seed corn maggots. 

The Onion Thrips, Thrips (abaci, by Lind. The 
Onion Thrips is also known as the onion louse and causes 
what is commonly called the white blast, white blight and 
silver top. Dry weather will bring on the pest. A severe 
attack will render many of the bulbs unmarketable by 
causing thicknecks or scullions and sometimes completely 
destroys large areas. The whitened appearance of the 
leaves is caused by the extraction of the vital juice, first by 
rasping, followed by suction. Figure 32 shows an infested 
field. The insect making the attack is of miscroscopic 
dimensions and, unless carefully examined, only the devasta- 
tions following the attacks will be noticed. The stem loses 
its upright appearance, the leaves become twisted, crinkled 
and curled, finally dying down prematurely. 



CONTROL OF THRIPS 



85 




Figure 32. 



Field Infested with Thriss. Defective bulbs compared with Normal 
Bulbs. 



The life history of the insect has not been fully worked 
out on account of its minute size. The female deposits her 
eggs just beneath the epidermis of the leaf or stem by means 
of a saw-like organ. In a few days the egg hatches and the 
young larvae begin to feed. They suck the juices the same 
as the adults and are full grown in one or two weeks. Find- 
ing a suitable place to transform, they change to the nymph 
stage and grow to the adult size. With a warm temperature 
it will require about three weeks in all from the time of lay- 
ing the egg for the insect to become fully grown. It is 
probable that six or more generations occur during a single 
season. 

Control of Thrips. The onion thrips suffers from 
several means of natural control. A sudden and driv- 
ing storm as well as wet weather in general takes large 
numbers of the insects. Several species of the lady-bird, 



86 OX IONS 

the insidious flower bug and other insects are means of nat- 
ural control. 

The onion thrips feeds on many other plants beside the 
onion. There is always danger of infection from other 
crops, and, of course, where all crops that are grown in a 
particular locality are subject to attack, it would seem to 
make little difference if the land were rotated. Care should 
be taken, however, in the selection of crops and more parti- 
cularly in keeping the onion refuse cleaned up from the 
fields. All rubbish about the fields should be cleaned up, 
since most any protected place on the surface of the ground 
provides shelter over winter. 

The potato, sweet potato, peas, beets and spinach, al- 
though attacked, are not materially damaged, and can be 
used as alternates in rotation. Early planting is of great 
benefit and it is of advantage to stimulate growth by means 
of fertilizers and manures. 

Spraying the crop with nicotine sulphate has been found 
to be very successful. (Department of Agriculture Year 
Book 1912.) The following combination is easiest to make 
and is the most successful to use: 

Nicotine sulphate 3.2 ounces 

Cresol soap 3 pints 

Water 50 gallons 

The cresol soap should be eighty-five per cent pure in 
order to secure the best results and is added as a sticker and 
spreader. A good quality of whale oil soap gives good 
results, but must be shaved into small particles and heated 
before a solution is formed. If whale oil soap is used it 
should be mixed according to the following formula: 

Nicotine sulphate 4.3 ounces 

Whale oil soap 4 pounds 

Water 50 gallons 



CUTWORMS 87 

A two or four-row attachment with ample hose length 
should be made for the sprayer and carried in the hands. 
The spray should be applied with as much force as possible. 
Provisions must be made in planting the rows to leave a 
space for a horse drawn sprayer, but, if the barrel type is 
used, it can be drawn in any field. When once begun, the 
spraying should be continued at intervals of from seven to 
ten days, until three or four weeks previous to harvest time. 
On account of the minute size and its method of hiding 
in the sheath of the onion it is rather difficult to control the 
thrips by spraying. The remedial measures should be used 
early, so as to act as a preventive rather than a cure. 

Cutworms. There are several species of the cut- 
worm that attack the onion, and at times they become very 
destructive. The insect remains over winter mostly in the 
egg stage in weeds, grass and rubbish. It hatches out and 
begins to feed early in May, continuing until sometime 
about the middle of June. At that time the larva burrows 
in the ground, later coming out as a moth to lay its eggs. 
Its method of attack is to cut off young plants at the surface 
of the ground, frequently destroying more than they con- 
sume. 

Control of Cutworms. Fall plowing and disking will 
destroy many ol the insects by turning them up to 
the weather. Clean cultural methods are essential. When 
present they can be controlled by the use of poisoned baits. 
To a bushel of bran, one pound of arsenic or Paris Green is 
added and mixed thoroughly into a mash with eight gallons 
of water, into which has been stirred half a gallon of sorghum 
or other cheap molasses. After the mash has stood for 
several hours it should be scattered in lumps about the size 
of marbles over the fields where the injury is beginning to 
appear. Since the cutworms are active over night, it should 



88 ONIONS 

be scattered late in the day. Where they are migrating 
from one field to another the bran should be spread evenly 
and continuously at the margin. For this purpose an onion 
drill can be used, mixing the bran and poison without sorg- 
hum and water. 

Wire worms. There are several forms of wire worms 
that attack the onion. They are elongated, wirelike crea- 
tures that work their injury by the destruction of the roots, 
and are very hard to treat. The life histories of the different 
genera have not been thoroughly worked out. They do 
their greatest damage to the crops that follow grass. 

Control of Wireworms. Exposure to the weather by 
fall plowing, together with careful selection of crops 
following grass, is perhaps the best control. 

DISEASES. 

Onion Smut has been known in European countries 
for a long time. It was first reported in the New 
England States in 1865. It is now prevalent in many parts 
of the United States, particularly in the older onion grow- 
ing sections. The fungus is known as Urocystis cepnla. 
It attacks the leaves of the } T oung and tender seedling. 
One thing peculiar about the onion smut is the fact that 
transplanted seedlings cannot be attacked, nor is the onion 
troubled after it has once gotten a start, the explanation 
being that the smut threads can penetrate only a very tender 
growth. The spores retain their vitality possibly for twenty 
years in the soil. If once the soil has become infected, crop 
rotation is of little benefit. Mother bulbs, planted for seed 
purposes, are never attacked, consequently the spores of 
the fungus are not carried by seed unless through accident. 
The great mode of dissemination is by means of infected 
bulbs. The spores are also transported from field to field 
by means of the wind, tools, crates, insects, water, and the 



CONTROL OF SMUT 



89 



feet of horses and workmen. Infected bulbs, spread out 
upon the land for their manural value, provide an ideal 
method for the extension of the disease. 

The young and tender seedling is attacked below the 
surface, just after coming out of the ground. Figure 33 
shows diseased and healthy specimens. Great numbers of 
plants are killed; others produce mis-shapen bulbs, each one 
containing mil- 
lions and even 
hundreds of mil- 
lions o f smut 
spores. The 
spores are de- 
veloped in pow- 
dery masses, 
appearing as 
narrow eleva- 
tions on the sur- 
face of the bulb. 
Unless the dis- 
ease is checked, 
a crop cannot 
be profitably 
grown in the 
same field for 
five years after 
the first attack. 

Control of 
Smut. Several 
preventive mea- 
sures can be 
taken. Flowers Figure 33 . At Left . 0nion Plants i nfect ed with 

r\f csnl-rkVinv -f/-M- Smut. Notice the infected layer in plants five 

Ul bUipilUr, IOl- and six. At Right: Healthy Specimens. 




90 ONIONS 

malin or ground quicklime can be applied with good effect. 
The formalin treatment is perhaps the best. A solution of one 
pound of 40% formaldehyde and from twenty-five to thirty- 
three gallons of water is made and applied at the time of 
seeding by means of a drip attachment to the drill, at the 
rate of from 500 to 700 gallons per acre. This insures a 
layer of soil near the seed which is disinfected, and permits 
the growth to go past the smut infection stage before the 
fungus can occupy that part of the soil. Ground quicklime 
or stonelime, preferably the former, can be used for smut at 
the rate of seventy-five to one hundred and twenty-five 
bushels per acre just before seeding. If broadcast, it should 
be harrowed in; but, if drilled, harrowing will not be required. 
Onion Mildew. Onion mildew has been a well known 
disease in European countries for a long time. The attacks 
have been severe upon the plantations of the Bermuda 
Islands. In the United States it is pretty well scattered 
throughout the country. It is also known as downy mildew, 
onion blight, onion mold, white blast, onion rust and in 
some places improperly called onion smut. The fungus 
responsible for the disease is Peronospora schleideniana. 
The spores of the fungus germinate upon the surface of the 
leaf, if moisture is present. The disease spreads rapidly on 
the leaf and from plant to plant. Moist humid conditions 
are essential to its development. Onions on low sheltered 
ground are more likely to be attacked. The disease makes 
its start in spots in the field, giving the plants attacked a 
bleached appearance. A more careful examination reveals 
a dense moldy growth. The leaves of the plant break 
over, appearing as though scalded with boiling water. New 
leaves are sent out and, if the weather is favorable, the 
plants will look as thrifty as ever in a week or ten days. 
Should the weather be favorable to the fungus, the new 



CONTROL OF MILDEW 91 

leaves will be taken as fast as formed. Onion plants are 
most likely to be attacked just after the bottoms begin to 
form. Attack by thrips weakens the plant and renders it 
more susceptible to onion mildew. 

Since the disease makes its appearance after the crop 
starts to bulb, many growers believe that the dead tops are 
a result of the natural dying process. This is especially true 
if the crop is attacked late in the season. Furthermore, the 
bulbs are not disfigured and the damage can not usually be 
measured by the naked eye. The yield is, of course, reduced. 
If seed onions are attacked, the vitality and germinating 
powers of the seed are lowered. 

Control of Mildew. Clean culture is one of the best 
methods of control. Burn all onion tops or scatter 
them on ground not used for onions. As the disease is also 
carried by bits of leaves or stems in the seed, the chances 
of its spreading are reduced, if the seed is perfectly clean. 
A system of crop rotation should be practiced, since the 
spores last but two or three years in the soil. Tall weeds 
or shrubbery on the borders of the field should be removed, 
so as to permit a free circulation of air, thus assisting in 
the evaporation of rains or dews. 

Systematic spraying with Bordeaux mixture, commenc- 
ing about the first of July, will control the disease. After 
the crop is attacked, spraying will be of no benefit except 
to protect the new growth of leaves. Spray every ten days 
or two weeks. Standard Bordeaux mixture is used, four 
pounds of quicklime, four pounds of copper sulphate, 
properly mixed with fifty gallons of water. The spray is 
applied with the same kind of apparatus as that described 
on page 86 for thrips. 

Dry or Black Neck-Rot is a serious disease attack- 
ing the white onion. The reason for attacking this 



92 



ONIONS 



variety lies in the method of harvesting. The white onions 
are harvested before the tops are cured, in order to preserve 
the color. The neck of the onion being still green, the 
fungus has a favorable opportunity to enter. The onion, 
when once infected, is destroyed. Figure 34 shows a dis- 
eased specimen. The disease becomes worse where the 
white onion is cropped 
continuously. 

Control of Dry or Black 
Neck-Rot. The best sug- 
gestion at present in the 
way of a preventive is to 
put the crop under cover 
immediately upon topping 
and fumigate with formal- 
dehyde gas. Twenty-three 
ounces of potassium per- 
manganate should be used 
with three pints of forma- 
lin for each thousand 
cubic feet of space fumi- 
gated. Place one of the 
materials in a flat bot- 
tomed dish and generate 
the gas by adding the other just before retiring. A 
tight oiled tent of canvas may be used for this pur- 
pose. The gas will kill the spores. Although this 
method has been used with success, further experiment- 
ation is necessary. 

Heart-Rot is a bacterial disease of the onion that 
invades the center of the bulb, following topping. Should 
the outside layers of the bulb become infected first, it is 
called "slip-rot." It ends in complete destruction of the 



>v-YJfr 


"XV*. %: ' ^ i 


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y 




.;.'/.';'• 




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Figure 34. Dry or Black Neck-rot. 



CONTROL OF HEART-ROT 93 

bulb through a soft rot. Wet weather at the time of harvest- 
ing is the principal cause. 

Control of Heart-Rot. Prompt pulling and care in 
curing the crop is the best control. 



INDEX 



(References are to pages) 



Acre production, 15 
Average production, 77 
Barred-winged onion fly, 83 
Control, 83 

Bermuda onions, 11, 13, 14, 50 
Black onion fly, 82 

Control, 83 
Botany, 12 
Bottle onion, 16, 32 
Black neck-rot, 91 

Control, 92 
Bunch onions, 48 

California seed, 16 
Climatic requirements, 14-17 
Color, 12, 34, 66 
Commercial fertilizers, 40 
Commercial importance, 12 
Cost of growing, 76-79 
Cultivating, 18, 56-60 
Curing, 65-68 
Curing shed, 67 
Cut worms, 87 
Control, 87 

Development of industry, 12 
Ditches, 20 

Double-wheel cultivator, 57 
Drainage, 19 
Drilling, 47 
Dry neck-rot, 91 
Control, 92 

Fertilizers, 18, 40-43 
Fertilizer spreader, 45 



Flat onion, 32 
Fly, 82 

Control, 83 
Foreign onions, 11, 13, 14 
Freezing, 73 
Germination, 24-32 

Green onions, 48 
Growing season, 17 
Harvesting, 16, 65-70 

Heart-rot, 92 

Control, 93 

Historical, 11 

Importance, 12-14 
Imports, 13 
Industry, 12-14 
Insects, 80 
Irrigation, 62-64 

Keeping qualities, 12, 34 

Lime, 41, 43 

Maggot, 80, 82, 83 

Control, 83 
Manure, 18, 42, 43 
Marketing, 73-76 
Markets, 11 
Micro-organisms, 19 
Mildew, 90 

Control, 91 
Moisture requirements, 17, 19, 6c 
Muck soils, 14, 18, 19 
Multipliers, 49 



94 



INDEX 



95 



Neck-rot, 91 

Control, 92 
Nitrogen, 19, 40 

Onion cutworms, 87 

Control, 87 
Fly, 82 

Control, 83 
Heart-rot, 92 

Control, 93 
Maggot, 80, 82, 83 

Control, 83 
Mildew, 90 

Control, 91 
Neck-rot, 91 

Control, 92 
Smut, 88 

Control, 89 
Thryps, 84 

Control, 85 
Wireworms, 88 

Control, 88 
Onion sets, 48 
Organic matter, 18 

Peat, 18 

Perennial tree onions, 49 
Pickle onions, 49 
Planker, 45 
Potash, 40 
Potato onions, 49 
Preparation of soil, 44 
Production, yearly, 12 

Reverted forms, 12 
Roots, onion, 20 
Rot, 91, 92 
Control, 92,93 

Sacking, 74 



Screening, G5, 68 
Scullions, 12, 17, 18, 34 
Seed, 12, 16, 24, 32, 34 
Seed bed, 44 
Seed corn maggot, 82 

Control, 83 
Seed drill, 46 
Seed growing, 32, 39 
Seed stalks, 12 

Seed sowing, 16, 17, 18, 44, 47 
Seed testing, 26, 34 
Sets, 48 
Shuck, .34 

Single-wheel cultivator, 58 
Skin, 34 
Smut, 88 

Control, 89 
Soil, 18 

State rank, 14-15 
Storage, 65, 70-73 
Storage temperature, 71 
Swamps, 18 

Thicknecks, 12, 17, 18, 34 
Thryps, 84 

Control, 85 
Tile, 19 
Top onions, 49 
Topping, 65, 68, 70 
Transplanted onions, 17, 50-55 

Varieties, 14, 21-23, 26-32 
Vitality, 24 

Weeding, 18, 60-62 
Wire weeder, 56 
Wireworms, 88 
Control, 88 

Yield, 76-79 




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